


Rise of More Supers

by littlest1



Series: Rise [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hidden Depths, Hidden Talents, I Like Tormenting My Characters Waaaay Too Much, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Quad Friendship, Sarcasm is a way of life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 11:41:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 89,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11184366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlest1/pseuds/littlest1
Summary: Marinette, Nino, Nathanael, and Felix. You would think that they were only acquaintances at worst and barley friends at best. You would be wrong.2 years before Ladybug and Chat Noir took Paris by storm, you wouldn't have met a closer group of friends. They were the Quad and were there for each other through thick and thin. Sadly due to numerous events the group was forced apart. But with the return of Felix comes the renewal of the groups friendship, a bond that is stronger then ever.This marks the beginning of new possibilities and growth for all.Watch as more Superheroes Rise.Posted of FanFiction as well.





	1. A Photo and A Memory

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this fic over a year ago and I decided that I should also post it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers!
> 
> I have been messaging a friend and they have helped inspire me to create this story! A big thanks to mystic-wolves-exist
> 
> This first chapter is going to be brief but I hope that you like it
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything besides this idea.

 

Marinette sighed. Lunch break had just started, but she wasn't as enthusiastic as she would normally be. Her best friend Alya was not in school today and she wouldn't be in school for two weeks. This was because she had been selected to be an intern at a famous magazine after the Ladyblog caught the attention of one of the more prominent writers. Said writer wanted to help nurture Alya's gift and managed to to get permission of both Alya's parents (the Cesaires) and her school to show her the ropes of professional journalist work. Alya got the chance to work with various events all over France. Of course Marinette was thrilled for her friend, but it was boring without her. Worse was the fact that Adrien, the love of her life, the keeper of her heart, the Eros to her Psyche, the man she wanted to marry, was also gone. He was booked for multiple shoots and he couldn't persuade his father to cancel them. Apparently they were set up before he started school. The only upside was that Chloe and Sabrina were gone for this week too. They were on a getaway cruise that the Mayor had booked for Chloe.

Marinette packed up her bag and strolled home. In France the lunch break was two hours so she decided to go home. When she reached her house her mom told her that she would call when lunch was ready. She went up to her room and looking at her computer screen decided to change her desktop as she had been using this picture of Adrien and wanted to use a new one. She set her pictures on slide show nitpicking each one, when suddenly she stopped the slide show, a smile tug at her lips as she took in a picture dated from two years ago.

"I had forgotten about that." She murmured.

"Forgotten about what?" Came the sweat voice of her Kwami Tikki. As she floated up to the screen to examine the photo, she let out a gasp. In the photo were four teens seated around a table outside a café. The teens strangely all had various splotches of black, white, green, orange, blue, red, and purple paint both on their clothes and in their hair. Marinette was seated in the middle, her hair was longer and in a ponytail with the tip covered in red paint. She wore jean shorts that were rolled up a white blouse that had its sleeves rolled up, a black three quarters cardigan on (basically what she wears in the 2d version). She had a happy somewhat smug smile on her face. Tikki was shocked to see that the two teens that were not in the center were two boys that the Kwami had seen almost every day since she gained her new partner.

"Are those two…?"

"Nino and Nathanaël? Yeah they are."

The boys though two years younger, were indeed the boys in question. Nathanaël sat on the far side of the table and had a streak of purple paint in his hair and was wearing a white t-shirt with black stripes, and khaki shorts. He had a small smile on his face but you could tell just by his body language there was no other place he wanted to be. Nino was next to Marinette, he had on his usual T-shirt and a pair of cargo short on. His hat was nowhere to be found his hair was longer and spiked. The tips of his hair black and orange. He had a mile wide grin and was flashing the peace sign to the photographer.

Tikki was surprised by this photo in front of her. The group seemed close in the photo, yet she would have never guessed that the group were so close from the way they acting with each other. This train of thought was halted when she took in the feature of the third boy, the one between Nathanaël and Marinette. A boy that wore a gray dress shirt that had its sleeves rolled up and a black vest over it. He was wearing a pair of short dress pants his hair looked like it had been combed back before the blue and green paint had covered the ends. His expression screamed 'Why am I with these three plebeians?' yet his eyes showed mirth and happiness that told his true feelings. What stood out was that the boy had blond hair.

"Is that Adrien?!" Tikki asked in disbelief. Marinette burst out laughing and shook her head.

"But it looks just like him!" Tikki exclaimed. Marinette however could describe Adrien's Adonis looks to a T and had known the boy in picture better than anyone two years ago. To her the differences were obvious, but she decided to help her Kwami out.

"While I admit there might be some similarities in their looks, they are far from being identical. I could go on for hours but since it is lunch break, I will give three clear differences that prove that the Devil Prince in this photo isn´t the God that is Adrien. First of Adrien has a classic casual yet stylish look that any designer can agree will always work for day to day, while Felix almost always wears formal and preppy clothing, except during gym class and even then the clothes were never baggy. Nino, Nathanael and I would tease him all the time and it was always a challenge to get him to choose simpler clothing. Next Adrien has a simply divine complexion that comes from doing many shoots outside and adds to his many perfections, while this vampire would rather spend time in the library avoiding the sun unless we drag him outside. The only good thing is that when we did drag him outside he didn't kick and scream, no he was much more "dignified" to stoop to such petty actions. Finally Adrien's eyes are a gorgeous emerald green that remind me of a beautiful meadow, while this guy has grayish green eyes, that while unique don't hold a candle to Adrien's eyes." Marinette zoomed in to show that the boy in question truly did have a different shade of eyes than the model.

"Beside Felix would rather give up going to the library than willingly be friends with Chloe. How on earth Adrien manages that is beyond me."

"Felix?" Tikki asked puzzled.

"Yes. Felix Bastille, he was my closest friend, but I haven't seen since this picture was taken."

"What do you mean you haven't seen him since this picture was taken and if you all were so close, why are you only acquaintances now? What happened?" Tikki asked the pig tailed girl. Marinette sighed and out of her chair to retrieve an album from under her bed.

"Two years ago I had three of the best friends anyone could ask for." Marinette flipped the cover to show the four teens as young children.

"We were all practically inseparable and did everything that we could together, though this doesn't mean that we didn't fight. On the contrary Felix and I could argue over anything and everything if we wanted to. We would always try to one up the other, never giving the other the last word on anything. Nino and Nate would always sit down and find a snack once we got started. They said our fights were better than any show that could possibly be on. Even if we didn't always get along we could never stay mad at each other. We all had silly nicknames for each other: Sebastian for Nino, Hiccup for Nathanael, Swan for myself, and O'Malley for Felix."

"Why those nicknames?" asked Tikki, completely absorbed in her partners story.

"We would always hang out on Saturdays and have a movie night later on. These nicknames originated from each of our favorite movies, well and a few other factors. We called Nino Sebastian from The Little Mermaid because he would always sing along to all of his songs because of his love of music and the fact that he is a major grouch when we wake him up to early the next morning, something that just cemented the nickname to his annoyance. Nathanael was Hiccup after the main character of the How To Train Your Dragon franchise for multiple reason but stemming from both lefties, at least that's the reason we gave him. He always complained that it was unfair as he didn't choose to be a lefty, but the real reason was because they were both amazing artists. I was often called Swan after Pirates of the Caribbean as it was one of my favorite movies, the other is because I am a bit clumsy. I ended up chasing Felix all over the house to get him to take that back and ended up tripping over a cushion. However I got payback in coming up with Felix's nickname O'Malley. I chose it after the Aristocats because a) it was one of his favorite movies b) he was like a cat in so many ways and c) He would always say how he hated that name which never failed to give us an opening to tease him. Actually on my phone his song is still O'Malley the alley cat because whenever it started playing he ended up puffing up like a grumpy cat, and yell at me to change it already. I never did." Tikki glanced at her charge and couldn't help, but stare in wonder at the happy expression that was on her charge's face at recalling her dear friend.

"Two years ago Felix's family had to move away due to work. We were all bummed and decided to make our last day memorable by having a paint war, it got a little out of control. We even got paint on the clothes underneath and since we were hungry we just decide to eat as we were. After Felix left the three of us still hung out, but there was just something missing. We were a quartet that was missing our forth and didn't know how to adapt to being a trio. We still hung out a lot, but it seemed we were all waiting on a snarky comment that never came. It went on like that for a year, but after that we just started to drift apart. Last year I tried to keep us together and reached out for the boys, but they would always give half-hearted excuses about how they were busy and kept rejecting me. Halfway through the year I couldn't bear the disappointment at being turned down by my friends anymore. We just couldn't go back to the way were. I never thought I would have a close friend again until I met Alya. To be honest nothing would give me more happiness than being close with my first friends again."

Marinette sighed and moved back to her computer. After examining the picture that sparked the discussion she gave a bittersweet smile and decided to set the picture as her background. It was a cute photo and it reminded her of a time where she was still close with her boys.

"Marinette lunch is ready!" called her mom. Marinette shook of her melancholy thoughts and went downstairs to eat. She thought that nothing could bring back the closeness that she once shared with her estranged classmates.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that a rap tell me how you love it or don't and I hope you liked it!


	2. Apologies, Sass, and Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of ladybug and chat noir. Or anything else that I mentioned in this story.

  

 

Marinette finished lunch and began walking to school deep in thought. It had been months since she had thought about the failed friendship and bonds she once shared. Ever since she met Alya and became best friends with her, those thoughts hadn't given her trouble. She even was able to get close to Nino again, because he was dating her best friend. It wasn't much but it was better than it had been.

She decided she wanted to bridge the gap with the boy that drifted away the farthest. She needed to apologize to Nathanael for accusing him during the Roger Cop incident. She had readily accused him yet refused to accuse Adrien, even though he could have been just as guilty. She also needed to punch him or slap him for comparing her to Chloe. Back when they were a close group that particular insult was incredibly repulsive. Plus, she had given him a gift on his birthday one that she knew he would love. She had saved up to buy a young comic book creator pack, plus more charcoal. One of his favourite mediums of drawing and a gift geared to the path he loved to experiment in. She had dropped off at his house that night instead of during the day, as she was a bit unsure about how to approach him. Come to think of it, she really hadn't been as good of a friend as she could have been. Especially if she couldn't tell that both of her friends had crushes on her.

Marinette stopped and face palmed letting out a groan. Both or her male best friends that she had left had, at one point in time, a crush on her! God was she really that oblivious?! 'If you need to ask then it should make it clear enough to you that you are that oblivious' came an inner voice that took on the board drawl that her missing friend was known for. If Felix were there he would have never let any party in question live that down, especially her.

Thinking of crushes, she remembered when she first met Adrien. She was shocked that someone could look so similar to Felix, yet be so different. That was the real reason that she didn't like Adrien when he first came to their school. It was only after the umbrella-incident that she began to see the Agreste for the boy he was. Plus, even she could admit the blonds is her life (even chat, may he never learn she thought that) were all quite handsome.

"Hurry up Marinette or you'll be late!" came a muffled voice from her purse. Marinette snapped out of her inner debate and seeing the time on her phone let out a shriek.

"How do I lose track of this much time! God I need to book it!" Marinette started sprinting to school while narrowly missing quite a few pedestrians on her way. She turned a corner and barely made to class before the warning bell. After her marathon, Marinette leaned against her desk to catch her breath.

"To think that you used to race that damn panther all the time. I never thought you would still need those skills, now that he's gone." Marinette's head shot up at this comment and narrowed her eyes at Kim.

Back when Felix was still in their class he and Kim had a one sided athletic rivalry. Kim would challenge Felix and said blond would beat him in utter silence or outright ignore him. Kim would often called him a panther for his preferences for dark colors and his cat like tendencies. The name actually stuck, but to make it their own the quartet changed it to Bagheera, after the panther from The Jungle Book. 'Come to think of it that might have been why Kim was so adamant about the challenge at the zoo' Marinette mused.

"Two times in one day", Marinette murmured under her breath.

"Must be some kind of record." She shook her head and glared at the daredevil athlete. Normally she would brush off that kind of comment, like she did with Chloe, yet today after thinking of her dear friend and verbal sparring partner she was feeling feisty. So instead she decided to let the athlete have it. After all, he did just make himself a target.

"Felix was always particular about getting to school on time no matter how far we were away. I wasn't so good at time management, so I would just leave it to him to inform me when we needed to depart. Guess I am still not used to him not being here to tell me to get my rear in gear. However, both of us could run circles around you just like Animan did when he was a damn panther, an animal that truly fits the boy who could put you in your place. Also it wasn't like you ever gave him a challenge." She finished with a smirk that hadn't been seen nearly as much as it used to be.

The whole class was in shock. After the blond had left everyone thought that it would be a taboo subject to bring up, yet here was Marinette willing to bring up the topic and even giving Kim a tounge lashing!

"Marinette, the sass slayer strikes again." whispered Juleka in disbelief.

After making sure the Athlete was well and truly stunned Marinette walked up the steps taking a deep breath and stood in front of the class's resident artist. He was so absorbed in his work that he missed the whole debacle. Nathanael looked up as a shadow fell on his sketchbook annoyed but quickly lost that expression as he took in his once close friend and current crush (even after the Evilustrator incident he couldn't let those feelings go, however the idea of Super Nathanael was, too much past) stood before him with a sheepish look on her face.

"I'm sorry." She said as he opened his mouth. Nathanael blinked what did she just say?

"Pardon?" He asked. Marinette took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself.

"I am sorry, I dont think that I ever really said it enough. I have been a bad friend to you and that is in excusable of me. There are a lot of things that I-I-I shouldn't have done. I should never have accused you of stealing Chloe's bracelet. I know you would never do such a thing, but I was just sick of Chloe always accusing me whenever something bad happens to her. While I might have apologized to the class for going too far, I should have apologized to you personally. I also should have given your birthday gift to you personally instead of just dropping it off at your house. I should have also stood up to you when Madame Mendeleiev was critiquing you. It's just that since Felix left I just haven't known how to bridge the gap that has grown between us all. I hope you can forgive me." She finished with a shaky smile biting her lip.

Nathanael was flabbergasted at the girl's apology. Sure, he was mad about the Roger cop case, but he didn't hold it against her. It wasn't just her that didn't know how to bridge the gap, he hadn't even tried. He had instead got caught up in the fact that he had developed a crush on his old friend to ever really process the whole smiled at her reassuringly.

"You don't need to apologize, the drawing kit you got me more that make up for anything you did." Marinette's smiled widened before a mischievous gleam entered her eye, something that worried him.

"Now that is settled…"  _Smack_  came the sound of Marinette slapping his shoulder hard.

"Ow!" Nathanael yelled as he rubbed his now aching right shoulder.

"What the hell was that for?" Marinette rolled her eyes. Honestly, she didn't hit him that hard.

"For dealing me the class 6 insult on your Birthday! Akumatized or not you should know not to use that comparison." She said arms crossed with a slight glare.

"Ha ha ha you initiated a class 6? Man be glad in was your B-day or Marinette would have done a lot worse for comparing her to Chloe!" Nino exclaimed as he walked into the room through back door of the classroom and over to the artist duo. He also got slapped promptly, but upside the head instead, much lighter the blow dealt to Nathanael.

"I did WHAT when I was akumatized?" came the loud cry from the normally reserved artist.

"God Marinette I am sorry, even jokingly that should be a line that I shouldn't have crossed even if I wasn't myself."

"Relax Hiccup you are off the hook just be mindful next time about what you say." Marinette said with a smile. The bell rang cutting the trios conversation short. As Nino and Marinette walked to their desks they felt a lightness that hadn't been present since the last member of their quartet had left.

"Settle down class." Came the authoritative voice of Madame Bustier.

"We have a new student joining us today. His family arrived late and had to fill out the paperwork during lunch." That certainly caught the teens' attention as it was now into the second trimester of the year so why should a new student transfer now?

"His family has recently changed jobs so I want a warm welcome to Mr. Bastille." The some of the classes' eyes widened at the familiar last name. 'It couldn't be… could it?' three friends thought in unison.

"I think you will find the class is quite familiar with me Madame Bustier." A familiar drawling tone came from outside the class room. A tall boy with tidy, yet wavy locks walked in wearing grey slacks, black dress shoes, a light grey dress shirt, and a dark grey vest. He stopped when he reached the teachers desk and gave a deadpanned look.

"After all I don't think two years is enough to make someone forget about an old friend and acquaintance." Finished Felix his grey green eyes gleaming with mirth.

He took in the shocked look on his classmates faces before stopping on the face of a girl who had risen from her seat. As she walked down the steps, he moved to meet her. When they were close enough, both stopped and studied the other. Both had a blank mask on as if trying to get a grasp of what the other was thinking. The class looked at the two as if waiting for a ping-pong match to begin. The remainder of the quartet made a mental note to start carrying around snacks. The silence was broken by the stoic male.

"What no hello glomp for you old friend? No kiss on the cheek? And here I thought I was your best friend Marinette." He said a small smile tugging at his lips. She rolled her eyes, but quickly enveloped him in a hug. Looking down Felix saw his now shorter (If he ever said that, he would get an explosion worthy of the elder if the Elrics from fullmetal alchemist) friend had tears in her eyes as she buried her face on his shoulder.

"Shut up or else I going to start calling you Elsa." Her muffled voice called. The barb was because she knew that as soon as she saw the ice queen that such a nickname, would bother her composed friend. His gaze softened as he returned the impromptu hug. As she let go she dried her tears and gave a wide smile.

"I'm home Swan." Felix said in a soft tone using her old nickname. Before narrowing his eyes in contempt.

"Also I will never be a singing queen. I am far to dignified for that." Felix said rolling his eye

"Welcome back O'Malley." She said in reply. Felix nose scrunched up in distance.

"I wish you would stop with that ridiculous nickname." He muttered causing the dark haired heroine to laugh. It was so good to hear those words again.

Thus begins a new tale where more miraculous' will see the light once more and both heroes and villains will rise in this new age of magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did have a poll going on to decide the super power and name of the Peacock Hero, but I already closed it. The hero will be called Peacox when they show up and their power will be called Harmonic Drive. This power takes the strength (be it mental, emotional, or physical) of all those powering the attack (up to 5 but could be more powerful as the hero grows) and transferring it into one attack that sends out a sound/shock wave that disorients and negates any incoming attack(er)s and causes an unique peafowl sound. This comes from the Chinese mythology that the eyes on the tails are the blending of the 5 colors of its feathers gives sweet harmony of sound. They will also have a slight but limited levitation power, which is a reference that while peafowls can get up to treetops they can't fly long distance. Weapon of choice are a pair of tessens (battle fans) that have a bit of a boomerang function and are decorated like peacock feathers.
> 
> Thank you for the comments, bookmarks, followings, favorites, and kudos. (I am on both sites now so have to include all of these.)


	3. Escapes, Helping Hands, and a Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. You know I am starting to get why it is just shortened to Miraculous Ladybug. On to the story!

 

After getting a warning from Madame Bustier about interrupting the class went on, as they knew each other she allowed Felix to sit with Marinette. However that didn't mean that the class' attention was all there. They were too caught up in the fact that the formal blonde had returned. Nino and Nathanael were practically vibrating in their seats in their excitement to greet their old friend. This was not lost on Felix who was fighting an eye role at their reactions. Honestly why was friends with them again?

A light smack on his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts. He turned and looked into Marinette's sky blue eyes. His eyebrow raised in question.

"Stop asking yourself why you are friends with them. Even if they annoy you deep down you are fond of their antics." Marinette said in reply.

A smile tugged at his lips. He had forgotten that Marinette was adapt at reading him and could instinctively know what he was thinking at times. Two years ago, it got on his nerves occasionally, but he had missed it in all honesty.

Ten minutes before school ended Felix's head jerked up as a thought came to him. If he had less control of his reactions he would have cursed under his breath. When the bell sounded his classmates would converge and question him, something he wanted nothing to do with. In all honesty, he wanted to recon verge with his comrades in peace than deal with his excitable classmates.

Just than Nino stretched his arms behind him than joined his hands together, one of his thumbs extended outward. To anyone else it wouldn't have meant a thing, but to the eyes of his closest friends it was a signal that told them to meet at the Dupain-Cheng Bakery in one hour. It was a code they came up with when they had been seated apart and couldn't talk. This meant that his friends knew that he was going to make a break for it to avoid the crowd and they would meet up at the bakery when they could.

Now having a plan of action Felix packed up his bag discreetly as to not alert anyone and got ready to bolt. As the bell rang he booked it as his friends covered him. Nino blocked the front exit and Nathanael covered the back in order to give him enough time to make his way off school grounds. His lips tugged upward as he agreed with Marinette's earlier statement. Even if his friends did drive him nuts at times, he wouldn't trade them for the world.

Once he was a block away from school, he slowed his pace and began to muse inwardly. There were a few things that he had noticed when he entered the class room that seemed off to him. First was that all of his friends were seated apart. Sure, they couldn't always sit together especially when teachers assigned seats, yet from what he saw seating was up to the students choice, so why weren't they together. Next was that as he was touring the facilities during lunch break he kept on watching people do a double take when he walked by. Plus a lot of them were whispering or, in the case of the fairer gender, giggling (he shuttered at the thought, he thought he had gotten away from fangirls when he moved away from the school he was going to after he left). Yet he didn't feel that it was due to his reappearance, so what was the cause of this reaction? The final was why was the blonde spoiled rich girl absent along with her little dog? He wasn't so naive as to think that she wasn't one of his classmates, it would be too much of a blessing.

As he took his detour to bakery he prepared himself for a lot of questioning from his friends. As a smile tugged at his lips, he felt that life was going to be much better.

**(We Now Follow a Different Member of the Four)**

Nathanael was on top of the world. Today had been one of the greatest, if not the greatest, day of his life. First, he was able to finish the project that he was going to submit in a local contest, a piece that was his finest and most creative in a while. Next, he was approached by the Marvelous Marinette, who apologized for her actions against him. Then he was able to joke around with two friends that he thought were unreachable. Finally, one of his closest and dearly missed friends had come back and they were going to meet at Marinette's, which guaranteed great food would be served. Nothing could ruin his mood.

"Oof." He exclaimed as he collided with a stack of boxes. Maybe he shouldn't have jinxed himself.

"Oh this is not my day." Came a voice from the other side of the now wrecked stack.

Nathanael glanced over and saw an old man was fretting over the boxes. Feeling bad, he decided to lend a hand. "Here sir, I've got the box. If you hold open the door I will help you get these in your store and set up in no time."

"That is a very kind offer you man. Are you sure that you won't be late for something, you seemed like you were in a hurry." The old man inquired.

"Even if I was in a hurry, my friends would never let me leave someone in need hanging. It was partially my fault anyways." Nathanael said in replied.

"Truly you have a very noble heart my boy." The man said in return. After the boxes were unpacked Nathanael left the store glancing up at the store's name.

"Master Fu's huh. Guess that must be the man's name" Nathanael mused. He glanced down at his watch and cursed.

"Shoot, I am going to be late! Felix is going to kill me or worse lecture me on the importance of being on time." The red-head said racing down the street.

**(We Now Change Back to Following Felix)**

Felix walked up to the familiar bakery and smiled at the building that had been like his second home.

Felix entered and took in the aroma of fresh baked bread and other baked goods.

"Hello how can we…Felix? Is that you? Oh how you've gown!" Came the voice of Marinette's mother, Sabine.

"Did you just say Felix?" Came the voice of Tom, a bear of a man and Marinette's father.

"Welcome back my boy! It is a joy to see you again." Sabine called quickly sweeping the boy into a hug not unlike the one he received earlier. Tom joined in showing attention to one of his favourite teens, next to his daughter of course.

"It is good to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng" Felix said affection evident in his voice.

"How many times do we have to tell you? Call us Sabine and Tom." Tom's boisterous voice filled the bakery.

"Marinette is upstairs in her room. I wish she had told us that you were coming, but now I know what she meant by a pleasant surprise." Sabine said shaking her head in fondness.

"Will Nino and Nathanael be joining us as well?" Tom asked.

"Yes they will sometime in the next 10 minutes, I suspect. We said we were going to meet in an hour but something tells me that they will be late as always." Felix said rolling his eyes.

"Should I go get Marinette?"

"No I would like to call her on her cell phone if you would mind giving me her number. She managed to get me to write mine down, but as class was starting she couldn't give her own." After getting the new number Felix saved in before hitting the call button. Little did he know that Marinette was headed down to the bakery to see if her guest had arrived and has accidentally turned up her volume.

_"I'm Abraham DeLacey_

_Giuseppe Casey_

_Thomas O'Malley_

_O'Malley, the alley cat!"_

A familiar and despised song floated down the stairs, making Felix's eye twitch in annoyance. He looked up to see Marinette bolting back up the stairs.

"Marinette! Change that stupid ringtone right now!" Felix shouted composure lost as he ran up the stairs. As he entered the dining room, his eyes zeroed in on Marinette who had a smug smirk plastered on her face.

"Get over here and give me your phone." Felix asked glaring.

"You'll have to catch me first, O'Malley" Marinette taunted shaking her phone at him.

The use of his most hated nickname was the final straw. A red haze descended over his eyes.

"That's it!" Felix said diving at Marinette.

Squealing the raven haired girl ducked away from him. Running all over the living room, the two chased each other, laughing and cursing at the other. This was the scene that Nino and Nathanael walked in on when they arrived 6 minutes later. The two looked at each other in amusement.

"Yep. Still better than TV." They said in unison.

"Huh." Marinette looked up, only now just realizing her friends were here. It also was when she tripped over a cushion that had been knocked over in the chase and fell on her face, repeating the event that cemented the nickname Swan years back. Felix stopped the chase and went to help Marinette up. She smiled at him taking his hand. As soon as she was up Felix swiped her phone from her other hand.

"Hey!" Marinette cried out.

"A food eaten by horses, not used as a greeting or cry of indigence." Felix said eyes not leaving the phones screen.

"Give me back my phone, and spare me the grammar lecture." Marinette growled out trying to get her phone back.

"Not until you promise to never use this ringtone as my personal one ever again."

"That's not fair, it's my phone!" Marinette retorted.

"Yes and it's my personal ring tone. I would rather it not be this dreadful song. You can forget about getting it back until you promise."

Marinette huffed and glared at the tall blonde. She knew that it was hopeless to get her phone back. While she could most likely kick his ass it wasn't worth it for the phone, especially since she had just gotten him back. Just than a thought came to her mind but she kept the smirk off her face.

"Fine. I promise not to use this ringtone as your personal ringtone again." Marinette smiled at Felix. He looked at her judging if her word are true but gave the phone back anyway.

"Awe does this mean that the show is over." Came Nino's voice from the coach.

"Shut up Nino." Felix and Marinette chimed in at the same time.

"Now that, that's settled shall we adjourn upstairs or is your room the pigsty it was in middle school." Felix teased.

"While I do resent that comment, I won't argue that my room needs work before anyone enters it." To be honest her room had just been cleaned, but she needed to get rid of her Adrien pictures and posters because if she even left them in a small corner in her room, Felix would find them and that was a line of questioning that she never wanted to face. She would also need to delete all the non-group oriented photos she had of Adrien from her computer, and dismantle her diagram of his schedule. It was a heavy loss, but she'd rather lose all of that then face Felix, if he got that much teasing material on her. This was due to the fact that Felix was a cleaning ...enthusiast and would clean any room that he thought wasn't up to his standards. As for the computer, that was just extra insurance. As her friends were here, she resolved to clean when they left. Since her papa was working on an order and her mother was managing the register she decided to goe the snacks herself.

"Right, well I am going to grab some snacks and drinks. What does everyone want?" Marinette asked the boys.

"I'll have my usual drink and some chocolate chip banana bread please." Nino called.

"I'll take my normal drink as well, as for food I would love some of your parents vanilla chocolate chip cookies if you have some." Nathanael replied.

"I'll have a seltzer of whatever flavour you have. As for a snack, I would like some oatmeal raisin cookies if you please. The flavour doesn't matter." Felix said after some deliberation.

After grabbing a lemon-, and a strawberry-kiwi-seltzer for Felix and herself, a coke for Nino, an iced tea for Nathanael, she went down stairs to grab the snack adding some extra cookies for Tikki and herself for later, and snagged some chocolate croissants for herself. Once she dealt the snacks she plopped down on the L-shaped couch in between Nino and Felix. Finally, it was time to get some answers on both sides. Nathanael decide to ask the first question.

"So what are you doing back? I thought your Dad and Mom moved to make sure that the new American branch was built and running at full strength?" The Bastille's ran a very successful company that had branches and dealt with many different branches from publishing to media. Felix's parents acted as Director and CEO of the company as well as owners.

"My parents ended up open their main american branch in New York, the transition was hard, but it eventually was so successful that they added two more branches, one in Los Angeles and the other is Boston."Felix started off.

"That's amazing, but it doesn't explain what you are doing back in Paris." Marinette questioned. Felix smiled at his friend.

"I was getting to that. My parents were happy with the success, but they felt that something was missing. They got a call from the head of the Main branch here in Paris. This lead to my parents deciding to come back home and start expanding into other European countries. We all missed the city so honestly it seemed like the best move for us all." Felix concluded, trying to contain how happy that made him that he was home.

"Glad to have you back." Nathanael stated.

"Where are you staying Dude? 'Cause your old house is still occupied." Nino asked.

"We are staying with my uncle and cousin until we find a household of our own."

"I thought all of your father's brothers lived outside the city?" Marinette asked puzzled.

"They do. This uncle was married to my mom's sister." Felix said not meeting their gaze. Marinette's eyes widened as it clicked. Especially why Felix was being more evasive than normal when he didn't want to talk about something.

"You mean your aunt that's missing. The one that you were close to, the one that disappeared." Marinette said softly. The subject was a sore one for Felix. His aunt was one of his favorite people and since his parents were almost always working, she used to watch him a lot along with her own son. It was a shame that Marinette never got to know her well, she greatly admired her and her kindness. Marinette placed her hand on his shoulder. She had met the woman a few times and had seen a few photos of her and she kept on getting the feeling that she had seen her somewhere else.

"Are you okay? I know how much you miss her and it must be tough being in her house." Nathanael asked feeling concerned for his friend.

"To be honest it's nice. I get to see the old place, plus I found some of her old journals. I also get to see my cousin though he's away for a while, same goes for uncle." Felix admitted.

"Now if you're done you're questioning you have to deal with mine."

"Seems fair, fire away dude." Nino said relaxing back into his seat.

"Tell me honestly. Have you three stayed friends since I left?" Felix asked not even beating around the bush.

A tense silence filled the air. None of them knew exactly how to answer that question. Nino and Nathanael turned to Marinette begging for her help. Marinette sighed looks like the bearer of bad news was her job this time.

"If you mean are we still friends than yes we are. If you are asking if we are as close as we once were than no, no we're are not. Not by a long shot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Thomas O'Malley" from the Aristocats.
> 
> Thank you for the reviews, favorites, followings, bookmarks, and kuddos.


	4. Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the forth chapter of the story!  
> Warning some of the events I have mentioned are pretty sad so be prepared!
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else that I mentioned.

"Explain." Felix said, eyes narrowed at Marinette, barer of bad news. What had happened while he was gone that caused three of the most important people in his life to go their separate ways?

Nino and Nathanael looked helplessly at Marinette, silently pleading for her to continue. Marinette sighed but decided to indulge them, she was already on the hot seat, and there was no reason to drag them down with her.

"It didn't start out that way. After you moved we tried to adjust to not having you around, but it was incredibly difficult. That was the worst summer of our lives. We couldn't even get in contact with you because whenever we called it wouldn't connect this went on for a month until we finally threw in the towel trying to reach you through your phone. Facebook was out of the question due to our age and none of us had a email address and wouldn't get one for another two years.

"It wasn't until you left that we realized just how big a part you filled in our group dynamic. Our parents knew that we were still really put out about your leaving so they decided to help us by signing us all up for a course for young talents at a local university. It seemed like the perfect program as it was geared to all of our interests, music for Nino, art for Nathanael, and fashion for me, it even had a theater program that you would have no doubt aced." Marinette said, with a small half smile.

What many people didn't realize was that besides being a genius with the violin, Felix was a gifted actor and dancer. He had even stronghold them all into doing plays with him. They would always agree because it was collaboration of all their interest and it was always a blast. Marinette had actually been cast as the female lead to Felix male on more than one occasion. This was a source of irritation to Chloe who was always trying to get closer to Felix, but the drama director was one of the few not willing to bow down to the girl's whims. It was the start of Chloe's tunnel vision for Marinette's misery. After Felix left they all stopped doing plays because it held to many bittersweet memories. The only reason that Marinette hadn't been able to act properly during the Horificator incident was because Adrien had been playing across from her.

"However like most things that seemed too good to be true, there was a catch. The programs rarely interacted with one another and since the program was nonrefundable, the only time we were ever together when we ate lunch. Afterwards we each had other things going on and couldn't hang out nearly as much as we used too. The only day we could constantly hang out on, without fail, was on Saturdays. The saving grace of the summer was the continuing of our Movie night." Marinette continued her explanation.

Nino and Nathanael winced. Their parents might have been trying to do a good deed, the repercussions of their meddling had been the first step to the deterioration of their bond. The trio had lost a member and had wanted to spend as much time together as possible to make sure that they all got through their loss together. While the Movie nights were a blessing they weren't enough to stop what the program had caused. By the time school rolled around all of them had made it through, but not as a group liked the hoped.

"When school started up again we were grateful that we now had a chance get back into the swing of things and hang out more often. There was just one tiny snag. We had only two classes' together and separate homeroom teachers. We were bummed but we decide to make the most of it, but someone decide to interfere. Three guess who."

"Bourgeois." Felix growled out. He really disliked that girl.

"Got it in one." Marinette replied, a humorless smile adorned on her face.

"She was once again in my class to my dismay and she had gotten the memo that you were gone, even though you had kept it quiet. She was furious that her "Feely-Weely" (Nino and Nathanael muffled their laughter as Felix cringed and shuttered at the repulsive nickname) was gone and that you kept it a secret and worse that I was told but she wasn't. When she found out she decided to make my life miserable by constantly placing large orders at the bakery and since my parents have always counted on me to help out my free time went to almost zero that summer."

"That is harsh and I apologize, I didn't realize the repercussions of keeping my departure secret. Not seeing Bourgeois was the only upside to the move and I didn't think of the aftermath. I got away from the banshee and her ridiculously ludicrous names and that was it. I still don't know how she got it in her head that we were friends let alone compatible enough to go out. I could barely tolerate her and wanted no more than the minimum contact with her." Felix said hoping to lighten his friend's mood up.

"I was amused too, until she upped her antics."

Felix balled up his fist and clenched his teeth. That was the biggest reason that he didn't get along with Chloe. He hated how she always put his first friend down, tripping her up, sabotaging her work. If she hadn't been the Mayor's "little princess" he would have put her in her place a long time ago, instead of just reprimanding her when she messed with his group. However Marinette never had a problem standing up to Chloe so more antics wouldn't have been anything she couldn't handle. So why did he get the feeling that something did?

"At first I acted like I usually did standing up for myself and not letting it bug me. Until one day she pushed me too far and I laid into her, unfortunately in front of our new vice principal. If it had been any of the other teachers they would have let it go with a warning as most know about Chloe's treatment of me and her antics. However this was a new vp was a major brownnoser who tried everything to get on Chloe's good side in hopes of getting into the Mayor's good graces. He favored Chloe in everything and when he saw me yelling at Chloe, I was threatened with suspension if I was ever seen bothering Chloe again. My parents tried to intervene but they couldn't go against the Mayor and they knew that I would never dream about transfering schools, even if it meant getting away from Chloe."

Felix was fuming. How could someone treat a student so unfairly especially if said student was being harassed? Nino and Nathanael weren't doing much better. Nino decide to fill their bud in on why they let the girl fend for herself.

"We hate being reminded of how helpless we were during this back then. We were there when the yelling happened and tried to protest Mari's punishment, but it was in vain. We couldn't get anyone to try and intervene and though we wanted to help her It was shot down. Worse still was when we tried to stand up for our friend afterwards they were told that if they continued doing so then they too would be suspended.

"After that I just stopped reacting to Chloe's taunts. It wasn't worth it and would just put more blame on myself. I retreated in to myself and pulled away from the boys. I could have handled it a lot better I know but I was just at a lost. I might have had my anchors but I had lost my rock. If was a relief when school ended and we began our summer. However life decided it wasn't done playing with us yet."

"What now." Felix asked in exasperation. Honestly he wasn't sure how much more bad news he could take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, favorites, kudos, and followings!


	5. Explanations the Conclusion and a small surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty here is the second part of explanations and now we get to see what Nino and Nathanael went through. Alrighty here we go!
> 
> I don't own anything besides this plot, my ocs and my version of Felix.

Nino, being the closest physically saw that Marinette' hands were shaking after having to talk about her painful past. Knowing that she needed some comfort food he got up and grabbed her another strawberry-kiwi seltzer and a few of the cookies that she had left on the counter. Once he gave them to her, taking a deep breath he decided to give Marinette a break and take over the story telling for a while. This time telling what he was going Marinette just talked about wasn't easy to deal with and she needed time to gain back her composure. If baring his soul would help the girl he thought of a sister gain back some composure it would be well worth it in his opinion.

"We started the summer of normally just hanging out whenever we could and enjoying each others presence. Then a few weeks in my family got a call. My gramps health had taken a turn for the worse, so my mom and I decide to stay with him to help him recover. Right before I left Marinette and I found out that Nathanael had entered an art contest before school ended. He ended up winning the grand prize: A summer internship at the Louvre under Mr. Kubdel ( **Alix's dad, who works at the Louvre** ) himself. He was hesitant to take it, as it would mean that we weren't going to be able to hang out as much that summer, especially since I would be out of town for who knows how long. Marinette finally convinced  _cough_  threatened  _cough_ (He had gotten a hard slap on the arm for that comment but it came with a smile so it was worth it) him into accepting as she knew what it meant to him to have this opportunity. Plus her parents were going to start giving her more responsibility in the bakery so she wouldn't have been as available anyways." Nino started.

"Since I was also going to be gone we ended up suspending movie night. I protested but Swan and Hiccup were steadfast on the fact that it wouldn't be any fun with just two people if we were a trio, a fact that I was reluctant to agree with. I gave in as they were both to stubborn to relent and with that we parted ways. It would be the first, but certainly not the last goodbye I said that summer." Nino paused and took a deep breath.

"Try as we might, Gramps wasn't able to make a recovery and he died. We spent the rest of the summer taking care of his affairs and carrying out his will. It was complete torture to have one of my favorite relatives just be gone. He was one of the first people who I shared my love of music with and he always supported me. I was angry at the whole world for taking him and his unconditional support away."

Nino felt a small hand take his own squeezing it. He turned and saw his friend each giving him a sympathetic smile and support, he smiled back. He felt Marinette wrap her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder, an action she used to do when words failed. He was really glad that he had her back in his life. Especially since it was her, an Akuma, Adrien, and Ladybug gave him a chance to get too know and start dating Alya, a girl he was crazy about. He really didn't get why he was crushing on Marinette before as he had always seen her as his sister before that. He decided to due to the fact that he was craving her support and affection, something that was a constant in his life since he met her. Nathanael decide to finish off the story. He knew why Nino had distanced himself, yet never shared why he had as well. It was time to stop hiding his pain especially from those that would support him no matter what.

"During the summer I learned a lot while working with Mr. Kubdel, it was a lot of hard work but I enjoyed it. I missed Nino and Marinette but we constantly checked in to see how things were going. Marinette and I always tried to meet up once a week to talk and sketch around town. A few weeks before the end of the program one of my fellow interns, Rachel, who went to a different school then us, asked me out."

"WHAT?" exclaimed Marinette in disbelief, her mouth ajar. He had never mentioned this when taking about his job. Nino had been taking a drink of coke at the time and had promptly done a spit take. Realizing he needed to clean it up, but in his shock he only created a bigger and stickier mess. Even Felix had a noticeable look of shock on his face. He did not see that coming at all. If it weren't for the tale that he was about to unload, Nathanael would have teased his friends relentlessly for their reactions.

"I was just as shocked and even asked if she was asking the right guy. She reaffirmed that she meant what she said. I accepted hesitantly because besides the fact that I didn't know her, I had no reason to say no. I took her to diner the next day and just like that I had a girlfriend. At first it felt like it was a big joke that a girl that I hardly knew would be interested enough to ask me out. The more time I spent with her the more real it felt. Slowly but surely I fell for Rachel, and I fell hard enough to see stars. She was just so amazing, that it was hard not to. She was a fan of literature, she loved art, and history was her passion, not to mention she was beautiful. We spent the rest of the internship flirting and going on dates. As the end of the internship approached, I was sure that we were going to make it work. Boy, was I stupid." The other three looked at the red head in concern. They had a feeling that this wouldn't end well. What had this girl done to their red-head to make him so down on himself?

"On the last day of the internship we were surprised by letters of recommendation by the workers of the Louvre that we worked with. They were a reward for all our hard work. The person who did the most was awarded extra credit with their school. Rachel ended up winning, although I was told I was a close 2nd. As we walked out of the museum I caught up with Rachel offering to take her out in celebration and, to my surprise, she laughed at me and asked why the hell she would do such a thing with a loser like me. Apparently she had a boyfriend who was a part of the program last year and told her about the letter and the extra credit. Rachel snooped around and realized that I was the biggest competition so she decided to weaken my chances by distracting me and sabotaging some of my work. Now that she had the prize she was done with playing with a stupid puppy like me."

"I am going to kill that B-"

"Marinette language." Felix grounded out, though he was shaking with barely suppressed fury.

"English, and don't tell me that she doesn't deserve it for what she did to our friend." Marinette retorted. Nino inwardly seethed but knew that all the cards needed to be laid on the table.

"Dude, why didn't you tell us? We would have understood." Nino said feeling guilty that he hadn't realized that something was majorly wrong.

"I was embarrassed for being fooled by a pretty face. It was so obvious and I had guessed that when I first met her, but I stupidly didn't listen to my instincts. Otherwise I would have seen her for the fake that she was. I thought about telling you guys, believe me, I thought about it for the rest of the summer, but whenever I tried to get the words out, my pride reared its head, preventing me from doing just that. I guess I didn't want to see my friends look at me in pity. I knew that this was never something that you would do, but couldn't realize at the time over the embarrassment of being tricked and my first heartbreak. Now let's finish this story up, because I don't know how much longer I can go without wanting to bolt."

Knowing that their friend was serious about wanting to bolt the rest of the Quad agree. However each vowed that this wasn't the end of the discussion. Seeing that his friends were willing to let it go, for his sake (though he knew that it would be brought up again at a later date) it allowed him to relax and finish up the story.

"When school rolled around we were all reeling from the new worse summer of our life, a summer so bad that we didn't even have time to miss you, Felix. Nino ended up in a different class, while I was with Marinette. We thankfully didn't have to deal with the brown noser, as he had transferred schools. Nino and I began to distance ourselves from Marinette and each other to avoid having to rehash everything that happened that summer. Marinette never stopped trying to be our friend and kept offering us ways to hang out, letting us know didn't have to talk about it until we wanted to. Neither of us were really up to. By then it became obvious that we would never be the same group and we felt that the payoff wouldn't be worth the risk of losing the friendship that we still had. Halfway through the year we asked Marinette to stop trying, though not in those word, something she did with great reluctance. We have drifted apart ever since. Flash forward to right now where we all finally air our dirty laundry and you have what we've been going through. So how was your life since you left?" Nathanael finished up glad that the painful process was done.

Felix felt overwhelmed. His friends had each suffered so much since he left and he knew that he couldn't change the past, but didn't make him with it any less. He straightened up and decided that if his friends were going to bare their souls so would he even if he was reluctant to.

"My life has been miserable since we moved. The fact that I lost contact with all of you was just the first straw. My parents, who were hardly there anyways, now rarely came and were constantly away on business trips. It got so bad that they hired two brothers who acted as bodyguards, Benjamin doubled as the chef, and his brother Kyle doubled as housekeeper. The Moray brothers moved in along with their little sister Eris. They were about the only reason the reason that I stayed sane since the move." Felix said smiling a bit in fondness.

"My parents decided to send me to a local private academy due to my high marks. I didn't want to, but I tried to make friends with some of the locals. I did it because I knew you guys wouldn't want me to be lonely. It ended up not being worth the trouble. I couldn't carry one descent conversation with most of the guys and the ones that I could were arrogant, vain, and enjoyed belittling others to much for me to actually enjoy their company. The girls on the other hand were mostly exactly like Miss Bourgeois, only less clingy and surprisingly louder due to the fact that there was more of them." Felix continued on, disgust clearly present as he talk about his former classmates.

"I found solstice in fencing, and swimming, although the later was just to take the edge off. I ended up leading the school to the fencing championship. It was a distraction that I needed. I still loved the violin and Drama, but besides the Morays I had no one to share it with. My life became dull without you all in it. Your antics might have been a pain to deal with at times, but they brought color and sound into my once dull and monotonous life. I wanted nothing more than to be back in Paris with all of you. When my parents were offered the position, that one was the first time I felt truly happy since I left that fateful summer. The fact that Ben and his family decided to move back with us was a bigger bonus to me. I haven't dealt with the hardships that you have, but I promise from this day on nothing will stop me from being there and being the friend that you need." Felix vowed to his friends.

The three smiled at their gray green eyed friend. They had missed him, dramatics and all. They smiled and vowed to do the same. They gathered in a group hug, an action that finally caused the waterworks to start falling. They each tried to comfort the other but usually this just ended up making them all cry harder. When they finally did calm down, non of them could stop from laughing at their faces. Each was sporting puffy eyes, a runny red nose, and flushed cheeks. Though they all looked stupid it felt good to let it all out. They had let themselves lose touch with ones that understood them best and ended up paying for it. Now they had a second chance, and they were going to get it right.

 ~ (Skip a few hours of talking, laughing, and catching up) ~

As Nathanael made his way home he couldn't help but feel that his luck was now changing for the better. Having Felix back was going to be the first of many good things to come, he just knew it.

After explaining why he was so late to his mother he went up to his room. He turned on his lights and made his way over to his desk. As he looked down he saw a small Chinese looking hexagonal box sitting in the middle of the desk. Curious to what it was he opened it to see a necklace with a pendent that was shaped like a fox tail for some reason. Suddenly a ball of orange light surrounded the jewelry than rose up into the air. Nathanael silently freaked out, dropping the box and scurried over to his bed. What the hell was happening?!

The light dimmed and the disappeared leaving a small floating figure with its eyes closed. The figure was like a fox, except it had a small body and the two whisker like hairs sticking out on each cheek. The thing slowly opened its gray eyes and let out a fanged yawn. Once it took in its surrounding it floated over to Nathanael who sat frozen.

"Hello my new partner I am Sinnopa." The newly revealed Sinnopa said to the stunned teen.

"Nice to meet you." Nathanael said before his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted in shock.

"Well he handled better than my last partner. That girl wouldn't stop screaming." The Kwami said to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that in the world of Modern technology that it would be weird if people just ended up not keeping in touch so I added the little piece about the cell phone to clear it up. Facebook does have an age limit and as mystic pointed out non of them would be willing to break that law. Plus even if they could does the character of Felix really strike you as one that would use such a website without being forced? Also bear with me on the Louvre part as I know that it's skeptical at best, but I figured that Alix's dad offered due to the fact that his daughter goes to the school, plus I am allowed some creative licensing.
> 
> Thank you for following, bookmarking, favoriting, the kuddos, and the reviews.


	6. The Kwami, The Witch, and The Akuma Villain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ciao Readers!
> 
> Sorry for doing another cliffhanger but I couldn't resist. Be warned that this is a long chapter, the longest yet.
> 
>  
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my oc's.

* * *

 

Nathanael slowly got up, groaning as he did. His eyes widened as he remembered the reason that he passed out in the first place. He looked franticly around his room for the fox- like creature (Sinnopa she had said her name was) until he spotted her perched on his pillow with an amused smirk on her face. Nathanael opened up his mouth but was quickly cut off by the Kwami.

"Yes it was not a dream, no you did not imagine what happened, no I am not an alien here to abduct you, yes I am real, and no you aren't going crazy. Now that, that's squared away anything else to add to my list, or are you going to faint again, or worse scream? If you choose the later please give me warning." Sinnopa finisher her rant arms crossed.

Nathanael looked stupefied at the floating female in front that was as sassy as Marinette and Felix at times.

"How did you-"

"Know what you were going to say? Kid I have been doing this gig for over 5,000 years. When you been around that long you tend to be around the block. Of course occasionally you get a few surprising cases over the year as well. The aliens was new and hilarious when it happened." Nathanael had wondered at that particular statement but realized that people reacted differently to odd things happening to them.

"So what exactly are you?" Nathanael asked hopping he didn't offend her.

"I am a Sinnopa, friends call me Sinn. I am a Kwami, a being that grants humans powers when paired with their respective Miraculous."

"Miraculous?" Nathanael's eyes trailed over to the box that was on his desk.

"The necklace?" Sinnopa smiled at her new charge. This boy was already putting together the clues.

"Your right. This is indeed the fox tail miraculous." Sinn said darting over to her object. She picked it up and brought it to her new partner. The chain was still gold, but the fox tail pendent had change from orange and white to obsidian black now looking more like a J than a tail. Sinnopa decided to answer his unasked inquiry.

"The color has changed since I am no longer inhabiting it. Now before you ask any more questions, I have a few of my own, starting with what is your name?" Sinnopa already knew what it was, but people tended to freak out whenever she already knew their names, so instead she asked.

"Nathanael Kurtzberg, some people call me Nathan. What are your questions?"

"I wouldn't have been given to you unless something big happened. Has anything unusual happened lately?" Nathan figured that it had to do with the supers in town and was happily to give her the run down.

"I think it has to do with the Akuma's and Hawk Moth. He is this villain that turns civilians into supervillain that are trying to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. I was actually one of those victims on my birthday. I don't even remember the experience."

Sinn's eyes widened as she took in the facts. Nooroo was being used for nefarious reasons and turning people into slaves! Worse was the fact that this Hawk Moth was trying to become all powerful with the help of the miraculous' of creation and destruction. Sinn decided to keep this particular fact to herself. Plus she knew that Nooroo powers were hard to resist and she didn't blame the boy, only the circumstances.

"So I'll be working with Tikki and Plagg this time around. As much as I despise that cheese obsessed cat, the fact that I get to work with Tikki again far out weighs the fact that I have to work with him as well." Sinn mussed the safer part of her thoughts out loud.

"Tikki? Plagg?"

"Tikki is the Kwami that works with Ladybug. She is sweetness personified, not to mention loyal, intelligent and a great friend. Plagg is her counterpart that works with Chat Noir. He is a mangy ally cat that is lazy, selfish and has always rubbed me the wrong way."

Nathanael's eyes widened as he took in this new information. Finally it clicked and he realized the true implications of the Kwami's presence.

"Wait hold on! If what you say is true does that mean that I…" The red head trailed of hardly daring to hope.

"Will become a superhero with the help of your Miraculous? Yes you will." Sinnopa said watching her bearer look at the necklace in awe.

"Why me? I mean, yeah I want to be superhero, not many people don't, but why choose me?" His voice getting softer at the end of the question.

"Firstly it is yes not yeah. Secondly, I didn't choose you, The Guardian of the Kwami's did. Somehow you impressed him and he felt that you would be a good choice to be my bearer. I am glad he did."

"What do you mean?" Nathanael looked at her puzzled.

"As I talk to you and look around your room, I see characteristics that I always like in my partners. Curiosity, intelligence, creativity, an open mind, all aspects I see in you."

Nathanael was flattered and touched that the Kwami thought so highly of him even if they had only just met. Slowly he warmed up to the idea. He was going to be a hero and save the day just like Ladybug and Chat Noir. He was going to accept the mantle, but first he had a few last questions.

"So what are my powers? I mean a few weeks earlier a girl got akumatized into Volpina, and was wearing a copy of this miraculous, if I remember right."

Sinnopa snarled at the fact that someone had tried to pass off herself as a bearer when she hadn't been chosen and that Hawk Moth had tried to copy her powers. While imitation was the sincerest form of flattery, this type didn't sit well with her.

"My particular power is illusions. The bearer can create illusions that aren't solid, even if they look it and can be created using the tool. A staff flute combo is used as both the weapon and to create illusions for most, even if they don't play, but some individuals have been able to turn the pole into two escrama sticks as the normal weapon. Fox Field is my ultimate attack where you can make illusions real in the area that we are fighting in. The down side to this is that we are somewhat rendered defenseless as we need to concentrate and use the long flute form to create and maintain the structure. It drains your powers a lot faster than just normal illusions and will cause you to power down five minutes after initial use these will be marked by the disappearance of the orange stripes when the miraculous is colored. The more illusions you create before this power the smaller the range of our field will be and the less durability our creations will have. This is usually why I like having artists as my bearer, and I most definitely lucked out with you."

Nathanael couldn't believe how awesome his power was and how well it suited him. However there were still things still bugged him.

"Are their any restrictions to using this power? What should my name be? What stops someone from figuring out that I am a hero? Finally how do I activate my transformation?"

"Clever that you picked up on the fact that it would have restrictions. After using the transformation, we Kwamis need time and certain foods before we can use our powers again. If I remember correctly Tikki prefers sweets, cookies in particular, while Plagg has favored cheese, especially stinky Camembert, since he discovered it. I am flexible about what I eat but this time I think I will go with berries, blueberries will be the best. It would be best if you carry a good stock with you and before you ask eating foods with berries also counts. As for the name lets go with Volpin, it's the one that a lot of my heroes use. The saying can simply be transform me, but I prefer the saying show time to transform and mask off when we need to release it without using our power, however save transforming for this weekend when you have time. That way we can patrol the city, you can adjust to transforming, plus we can practice before the next Akuma attack. As for the whole secret identity thing, you don't have to worry about it."

"What do you mean?"

"The miraculous users have a secondary magic where they are protected from others figuring out their identities unless they expose themselves, intentionally or not. You most likely have already tried to figure it out but just haven't been able to connect the dots. Now that you're a holder as well you will have an easier time actually seeing their features even if you can't connect them unless you stumble upon the last clue or they decide to tell you. The magic is what keeps us safe from being used for evil purposes. Except in the case of special books and an occasional account, our existence causes us to fade from non involved humans minds."

Just then Nathanael let out a yawn. The two had been talking for close to an hour.

"It's late let's get some sleep we will talk more when we can. For now put on the necklace. Without the color it's harder to tell that it's the true miraculous but just in case, keep it hidden under your shirt. Better safe than sorry."

Nathanael quickly drifted off to sleep, think of the newest development in his life. He was right, his luck had finally changed for the better.

  ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

When they got to class the next morning the Quads were bombarded by their classmates. Those that had never met the blonde were dying for details on his relationship with the other three. The ones that knew him all greeted him in their own way, all of them wanted to know what he was doing back. The class was given basic details, but that was all the formal teen was willing to offer to those outside of his group. Seeing how close the four teens were, Madame Bustier allowed Nathanael and Felix to occupy the seats of the temporaly gone students. Before class started, Felix decide to asked about Chloe and why he hadn't heard her shrill voice yet, he was told that she was on a cruise with Sabrina. He had been relieve to know that he was Bourgeois free until Monday.

On Friday, when free period started, the group decided to head to the Library. Felix remembered that the seats that he and Nathanael were sitting in were occupied by new students so he decide to inquired about the newest students at the school, besides himself. The trio told him about three in particular, and how the two that were in their class were out for two weeks. When he asked who they were he was surprised to learn that one of them, Alya, was best friends with Marinette, was also Nino's girlfriend.

Felix couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy over the fact that they had new best friends, but after learning what they had all gone through he was also happy that they had more people to watch their backs. Marinette had pick up on it and quickly reassure him that Alya was her best female friend and that they would always be her boys. The comment caused him to smile and think for the hundredth time how lucky he was to be back. Still Alya seemed like an interesting character and he looked forward to meeting her. It would most definitely be an experience, especially since he knew that she knew nothing of him.

When he learned who the other new student in their class was he couldn't help but laugh. Heh, Adri finally managed to go to public school with his dad's permission huh? It explained why there was so much whispering. The unobservant schoolmates of his confused him with his model cousin. Something that happened quite frequently at his old school and anyone that the almost twins weren't close with. Hell, they even managed to fool everyone but Adrien's mom, his favorite aunt Isabella, Adrien's mother, at a family reunion when they were kids.

The fact that his friends had known from the start that they were different people made them more amazing then they already were in his eyes. He was surprised that they didn't already figure out that they were cousins, but decided to mess with them a bit and make them wait to learn the truth for a while, it would be worth it for their reactions even if he ended up paying for it. It also meant that until then, his house was strictly off limits for hanging out. The fact that Nino was also best friends with his cousin didn't faze him as he knew that Adrien needed a friend like Nino.

They didn't need to tell him much about the third girl, as he had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Lila already and decided to tell them what happened.

 ~ ~ ~ Flashback ~ ~ ~

It was during the lunch break the day of his transfer. He and Ben had just finished up the paperwork, so he went to the library to get copies of the necessary textbooks. He was nervous and excited because Headmaster Damocles, had remembered that he was close friends with Nino, Nathanael and Marinette and had informed him that they were all in his class. Felix could scarcely believe his luck. He was so distracted by his thoughts he didn't notice that he wasn't alone until he crashed into her. Being a gentleman he offered an apology and a hand to help her up.

"My apologies mademoiselle. I wasn't watching where I was going." The girl glared up ready to yell at him when she took a closer look at him. A light entered her eyes and a smile graced her face. Felix inwardly groaned, not another fan girl.

"Adrien! What are you doing here?" She said grabbing hold of his arm and batting her eyelids at a frequency that made Felix wonder if he should take her to the nurse as it couldn't be natural. Also she called him his cousin's name why? Adrien was home schooled since Aunt Isabelle disappeared. Why the heck would he be here?

"Miss please remove yourself from my arm. I do not know you and you are not a sloth so stop clinging to me like one." She reeled back like she was struck. Okay maybe he was a little short tempered but she was entirely to close.

"What do you mean? Of course you know me! It's Lila we are friends and we had a date in the park before Ladybug crashed it in her jealousy." The last part was spit out like it was poison, throwing the formal boy. Ladybug? Why would a good luck bug be such a big deal and why was it so hated. Finally Felix freed himself from her grasp.

"Miss Lila I am sorry to inform you that I am not Adrien. My name is Felix Bastille and I have never met you before in my life." Her eyes widened before narrowing seductively. Felix was now ready to bolt.

"I am sorry that I mistook you for my sweet Adrien, he's a model you know. He is going to put in a word with his father so he can work with me and show me the ropes." Felix was floored at her words. His cousin knew this girl? And more shocking he was recommending her to his father to become a model. Felix was confused about how his cousin could have changed so much. realizing he was ignoring the female before him he decide to be a gentleman.

"Do not worry about mistaking me for Adrien Miss Lila. I am already aware that Adrien is a model. I have been mistaken for him since he started his carrier. It happens quite frequently and I should have expected that someone who had never met me might mistake me for him." Felix decided not to mention the fact that he was Adrien's cousin. He barely knew the girl and that piece of information was personal.

Lila smiled coyly at the formally dressed blonde. While he may not be the boy that she liked, he did look like him. Plus he was very stylish and a gentleman to boot. Why not flirt a bit while her sweetheart was away. She let out a well practiced laugh/

"Felix was it? You can drop the Miss and just call me Lila. So your new here? I just transferred here not to long ago myself. If you like I can show you around. New kid to newer kid." Lila flashed the boy a winning smile and went to link her arm through his. Ladybug wouldn't mess up her chances with this one.

Felix was getting nervous. This girl was being entirely to casual with him and was making him highly uncomfortable. Just than the warning bell rang making Felix inwardly sigh in relief.

"While it has been quite informative to meet you Miss Lila. I must go to the Headmasters office to meet my new teacher before she introduces me to my classmates. Goodbye." Felix said briskly leaving with his books before she could stop him.

As he headed to his destination, a thought occurred to him. It was true that Adrien would occasionally work with other models but he would never recommend a newbie to the work with him, even if he thought she had potential. Adrien was a believer in getting things done through your own merit. The only reason that he was a model was because of his father. Also training a newbie would mean longer shoots, something both Agreste men loathed, and avoided unless it was necessary. Felix balled his fist. Whoever this Lila was he wanted nothing to do with her. While she was a great actress, something that he respected, she had lied out right to him at their first meeting something that made her bad company in his books.

 ~ ~ ~ Flashback End ~ ~ ~ 

As he relayed the story to his friends, minus certain details, he saw the shock in their eyes as that she took advantage of a new acquaintance by lying and trying to make herself look impressive. As the boys told him about her other tales he pointed out their unlikelihood making them feel foolish. They had grown up with an actor they should have seen through her lies. As they turned to Marinette asking her why she didn't chime in she told them that it was the same reason that she wasn't overly fond of Lila, she already knew that Lila was a liar.

Marinette had met Lila after the others and was skeptical that all of those things that she said could be true, but hadn't questioned it. At least not she had seen her lie outright when she knew the truth. She said that she was in the park when Ladybug called Lila out on her lies. A half truth but one that she needed to say in order to protect her identity. She was surprised that Alya didn't see through her sooner, but then again anything that has to do with Ladybug and Alya can be a bit caught up. Why else would she believe that she was over 5,000 years old? Though she felt bad for calling Lila out on her lies due to her jealousy, the fact that Lila decided to hold a grudge and continue to lie just made her dislike the girl more. The only reason that she kept quiet was the fact that revealing such a fact would make her like Chloe, plus she had already handled it badly as Ladybug, no need to handle it worse as Marinette.

Though it was shaky and hesitant at first, slowly the four became friends again falling into certain habits easily. They decide that when Adrien and Alya got back Nathanael and Felix would start sitting at the desk behind Marinette, something that Ivan was more than willing to do for his dear friends. As the four entered the classroom, Felix realized that he still needed to talk to the class representative. He decide to ask the entire class or else the others would start bagiing on him for being unsociable.

"Now is Chloe the class representative again, or did someone finally beat that entitled rich girl, because if that's the case I may just kiss them for sparing me from going to her for information." Felix drawled.

Nathanael looked away uncomfortably, Marinette turned red, and Nino started laughing along with Kim. Felix raised an eyebrow at them. What was the big deal? Nino finally calmed down enough to give a knowing smile at the blonde.

"Dude I forgot you didn't know. Marinette ended up running since no one wanted to do so themselves and, after a certain incident Marinette won by landslide majority."

Now that stunned the grey green eyed boy. He had always had too many after school activities to run, even though he wanted to make a difference. To think that his closest friend had done just that made him very proud.

"Well that's a new turn of events. How come you didn't tell me sooner Mari?" Marinette blushed before placing her head in her hands and groaning in frustration.

"To be honest, I forgot that you didn't know. Hey, since Alya's out, want to be my temporary Deputy?" Marinette said with a sheepish smile.

"Hmm. Why not? It gives me a chance to help you out. Congratulations by the way. There is no way that you wouldn't make a great representative." Felix said giving her a full smile, something reserved for a select few. The warning bell went off and so the four and the rest of the class took their seats. The rest of the day flew by until the last bell rang. They decided to head to Marinette's as it was the closest to hang out before tackling homework.

 ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

Walking by Felix took in the sites before he noticed a statue that was situated across from the bakery. It was a bronze statue that depicted two figures, one a girl with a yoyo and the other a boy with cat ears? Something big had happened in Paris while he was gone and he was now dying to figure out what it was over lunch.

The teens all greeted Marinette's Dad before heading upstairs this time to Marinette's room as she was finally certain would pass a Felix inspection.

All of her Adrien pictures were gone, something that she was reluctant to do, but it was made easier Tikki pointed out that she wouldn't have to worry about anything if Adrien came up to talk and hang out. As Marinette disposed of all things Agreste, she realized that she might have gone a smidge overboard, especially since the schedule kinda made her feel like a stalker.

Marinette didn't want any knowledge of her crush to be discovered by her though it was to late for Nino. The boys had always been over protective and possessive when it came to her and other guys, though Nino was the most lax about it. Who knows what her boys would do when they found out that she had a crush. Plus she was still unsure if Nathanael still had a crush on her or not, no need to rub salt in the wound. There was also the possibility of being teased mercilessly, something that she didn't want to deal with.

Felix took in the familiar room of his closest friend. It still had a lot of pink, but thankfully it was a soft pink that suited the girl who lived there. He smiled at what he and the boys all called Catwalk Corner, an area that was devoted to all of Marinette's projects and fabrics. The only thing that had changed were the designs, and a new sewing machine for Marinette to use. As he looked at the platform where Marinette slept he noticed the giant cat plushy was at the head of her bed. He was happy to see that she kept it. He had given it to her as a going away present same with Nino's hat and A CD of a band that he knew that Nathanael would love and judging by the T-shirt he was right. Each of the boys claimed a seat. Feeling that it was the right time he decided to ask.

"Hey, mind telling me about the statue outside?"

"Well, that statue was dedicated to Ladybug and Chat Noir for all their hard work."

"Great, who are they?" Suddenly all of them froze and looked at him like he was crazy.

"What? I have only been back for a few days and I haven't been watching or reading any news related to Paris. To painful." His friends oohed in unison nodding. Marinette wheeled herself over to her computer and brought up a red and black pocka dotted site, called the Ladyblog. What the hell did that have to do with anything?

"Just look through the posts." Nathanael told his skeptical friend.

Deciding to humor them he started reading the site and once he started he couldn't stop. This couldn't be real. It was just so amazing that there was no possible way that superheroes could actually exist in Paris. But it also made sense: the conversations that he had heard, the black cat and lady bug themed clothing and merchandise, why his friends looked at him like he was crazy. Just to be sure he turned to his friends letting his shock be visible on his face. Marinette just smirked and nodded glad to see the boy gob smacked. Nathanael decided to explain a bit further.

"It's real. There are a lot of videos of different akumazations that have happened over the last few months, not all of them but still a majority of the more public Akuma villains. The victims are chosen when they feel moments of weakness which Hawk Moth, that's the guy who creates the villains, uses to make them do his bidding. At least that's what the three of us have come to believe, though its not public knowledge. Every villain is different, as they all have different goals. No matter what type it is Ladybug is always able to set the damage right by using her Lucky Charm. What is kinda odd about it is the fact that all of the victims never remember being akumatized."

"How can you be so sure that they can't remember?" Felix asked ever the skeptic. This time it was Nino that spoke up.

"Besides the fact that Alya has tried to interview every victim that she has filmed, we know because both Nathan and I were Akumatized at one point in time." His voice solemn and sheepish. Felix eyes widened in disbelief. What. The. Hell? Marinette decided to step up.

"It's true. Neither of them could help it. Nino was the Bubbler and became it because Gabriel Agreste refused to give his son a birthday party." Felix winced that was always a sore subject.

"Nathanael got turned after Chloe destroyed one of his drawings. He turned into the Evilustrator and was actually one of the mellowest villains that has been done. He ended up creating a private party and inviting me along. I accepted, but I decided to try and help take him down with Chat Noir to get rid of his Akuma, something that he was a bit steamed at once he realized what was going on. He ended up dealing a class six insult to me before flying off to torment Chloe." Felix felt that she was leaving out a few key details but was too caught up in what she said.

"You actually compared her to Bourgeois?" Back then they only used that to make fun of strangers that were acting like giant jerks. It was an unwritten rule of theirs to never to use a class 6 on each other. It was hard to believe that Nathan, the person who used them the least, would be the one to deal the insult was astonishing.

"Don't bloody remind me. Marinette has a recording of it though she didn't send it to me until last night. She actually only dealt me a blow the day that you came back." Before the boys could question the red head further Marinette slapped both Felix and Nino to keep them quiet.

After that awkward conversation they decide to work on their homework so that they could catch Felix up, and still hang out a bit. Once it was finished the boys went home, making plans to meet the famous Ben and have the first Movie night (it was actually practically afternoon and night) with all of them. Felix decided to do a little more digging about the heroes and to read another few entries of his aunt's journals.

 ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

The weekend had been a huge success. The trio loved Ben, a man in his mid twenties who was a tall brunette, with brown eyes, who looked like an athlete. He was a superb chef and had a keen mind and eye for details. He had been studying for his detective's license with his twin before they had to quit to take care of their younger sister, after their parents died. The brothers had taken the job with the Bastilles because of the pay. Almost all of it went to their family. When the Bastille's asked the family to come with them, they could only yes. This was not only because the Morays were attached to Felix, but the fact that the siblings were already contemplating on moving.

The teens didn't get to meet Kyle or Eris, as they were out.  **(More on my OCs and their significance will come at a later time, for now think of Ben and Kyle as the male equivalents to Natalie, with the skills of Gorilla, and friendlier than both.)**

Saturday movie night was just liked they remembered, full of laughs, good food, and lots of films. They decide to do a Disney animation night and at the end of it the group had four new nick names: Belle for Marinette, Genie for Nino, Phoebus for Felix, and Robin Hood for Nathanael.

The weekend was also a success of Nathan's part or, more specifically, Volpin's. Nathan had done his first transformation and thought he looked awesome.

His outfit consisted of black boots that went mid knee had on black gloves that wen to the middle of his fore arm and they had claws that would make scaling buildings a breeze. There was a hoodie that was down but raised would give him a chameleon power that lasts three minutes per use before needing to charge up according to Sinn. The transformation had changed his hair to a more orange color with black undertones and white tips. He had fake ears on top of his head, that were like a fox's. An orange mask that is tinted red with a black outline covered his face. His eyes were his favorite part. Like Chat's his eyes had become slitted eyes with a darker pupil and sclerae, except his was a teal shade darker than his own eyes and an ice blue respectively. He sighed as he turned his head to look at the tail that unfortunately came with the costume, non negotiable. It was behind him attached to an orange belt, and as he concentrated he watched it twitch. Even though it was fake, it could be controlled. It ended a little higher than the back of his knees and was orange with white and a black tip. The suit itself was an orange leather like material that had a white middle section that went from neck down to where it disappeared into the boots. The miraculous was colored and hung on his neck his back there is a harness. As he reach back he saw that the flute staff had become two eskrama sticks, though by the looks of it they could easily be joined together when he needed to start casting illusions. **(Sorry if I went into too many details.)**

On his first patrol he was amazed by how free he felt jumping from roof top to roof top. It was invigorating. Sadly he didn't end up meeting Ladybug or Chat Noir while on patrol, but he was looking forward to it.

Sadly as amazing as the weekend was, Monday had come around at last and with it the wicked witch in yellow and her flying monkey.

As soon as Chloe saw Felix she stopped rubbed her eyes and, to the ire of Felix, pounced on him knocking over Mari in the process.

"Adrikins! I missed you so much! next time I go on a cruise I will make sure that Daddy invites you along too." Chloe said as she squeezed the blonde and he tried to get out her grasp.

"Miss Bourgeois will you kindly release your hold on me." Felix's frosty tone caused her to do as he asked.

"Adrikins what's wrong with you? Also why are you sitting with that awful Marinette when you could be seated in the row parallel to mine?" Felix control was almost at the breaking point, but thankfully Nino intervened.

"Chloe get your eyes checked, that isn't Adrien. My other main man Felix has come back to Paris at last. Also if you remember correctly, Adrien was gone last week and will absent this week as well." Chloe didn't even hear the last sentence, too caught up in the fact that her other prince, after Adrien of course, was back.

"Feely weely! I can't believe it's you! It's been so long!" Chloe attempted to hug and kiss the aloof blond, but he quickly dodged the attempt and checked on his only female friend. Figuring that she wouldn't get a response out of the blonde now that he was by Marinette, she turned and unleashed her dragon fire on Sabrina.

"Sabrina, how could you not tell me that I was hugging Felix or, better yet, that he was even back? What good are you anyway?" Before Sabrina could stammer out a response, Marinette decided to intervene.

"How would Sabrina have known that Felix was back? She was with you on the cruise all week. Also she came in after you started hugging Felix. Besides, it was your own fault for mistaking Felix for Adrien. Who cares if they look alike to an extent? The way that they dress is a stark enough comparison." Marinette sassed.

As Chloe opened her mouth to yell at Marinette, Felix decided to intervene and take his fellow blond down a few pegs.

"Miss Bourgeois before you make another uncouth comment about my dear friend, may I remind you that we are in a classroom and to leave your petty and childish distaste at the door." Felix finished deadpanning all the while. As the rest of the class started laughing, Felix winked and flashed a small smirk at his friends. By the time Chloe regained her voice, Madame Bustier had already started class.

 ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

When free period rolled around Felix the trio of friends had already left, leaving behind a ticking time bomb of anger named Chloe. Sadly the thing about bombs is that when they are triggered, they explode. The trigger came in the form of Lila, who was dissing her idol Ladybug outside in the courtyard.

"Don't you dare say anything bad about Ladybug! She is one hundred times better than you'll ever be."

"She is a jealous witch who interrupted my date with Adrien and told him that I had lied about being saved by her." Lila's eyes widened as she realized that she had admitted to lying to Chloe, the gossip queen of the school. Worse, she had said that she was on a date with Adrien, and everyone knew how possessive the rich girl was over her childhood friend. Chloe's eyes narrowed.

"I knew you lied about being friends with The Ladybug and about her saving you! I on the other hand have been saved by Ladybug multiple times and she has always admitted when she was wrong and apologized. If you can't accept that you were also wrong then you are more worthless than I thought! Also like Adrien would ever go on a date with a worthless, pathetic, disgusting, attention hogging liar like you! Just wait until everyone finds out what you really are." Chloe said, already planning to ruin the new girl's life.

Lila felt tears of anger sting her eyes. She hated Ladybug for messing up her chances with Adrien. Now she hated Chloe more for saying such awful things to her without even thinking about her side of the story and deciding to ruin her budding reputation at school.

 ~ ~ ~ With Hawk Moth ~ ~ ~ 

Butterflies scattered as the window shades once again opened, signaling that there was a soul in the perfect condition to be manipulated by his hand in the search for the Miraculous.

"Ah the soul of my favorite candidate has once again fallen into the inferno of jealousy and the thirst to be in the spot light. Let's give this girl a second go." Hawk Moth held his hand out as a butterfly landed in his palm. He carefully clasped the creature in his hand, infusing Nooroo's miraculous power into the butterfly corrupting it.

"Fly away my little Akuma, give her the powers to steal the stage once more." Hawkmoth twirled his staff. The girl had already almost succeeded twice in acquiring the infuriating Ladybug's earings, farther than almost any of the previous villains. They do say that third time is the charm.

~ ~ ~ ~ Back to Lila ~ ~ ~

Lila sat curled up against a wall cursing her luck, cursing Ladybug, and most of all cursing Chloe Bourgeois, the girl that got away with everything. She was so caught up in her dark thoughts she didn't notice a purple and black butterfly land on her fake Miraculous. The pink outline of Hawk Moth caused Lila to lift her head and listen to what her patron had to say.

{ ** _We meet again my dear Volpina. I, Hawk moth, give you the power to make your lies to come to life, once more. All I ask in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Do we have an accord?_** }

A sinister smirk made its way on to the Akumatized girl. "It would be an honor Hawk Moth." With those final words the Italian girl was engulfed in a black and purple cloud. She rose as Volpina, Mistress of Deceit, once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. Few a long ass chapter but well worth it. I will add the reason behind the newest nicknames in a later chapter, but right now I want to focus on getting all of the characters back into the picture. I added the extra power to the fox hero arsenal because I noticed something. Even when the villain was based on a hero, they were missing part of their power. Antibug might have had anticharm, but it didn't create a random object that was needed, nor did it come with ladybug vision. Copycat might have had the same weapon but I don't think his cataclysm would have the same strength as Chat's Cataclysm. Going with this particular train of thought I figured that Volpina would have some limitations as well.
> 
> A big thanks to all those that commented, bookmarked, favorited, followed, and gave kuddos.


	7. Fox vs Faux: A New Partnership

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first Battle for Volpin and it's against his evil Akuma counterpart!
> 
> It's gonna be tough but well worth it.
> 
> Alright besides the plot, ocs, and this version of Felix I don't own anything.

* * *

 

Chloe decide to wait until lunch break to start the gossip rolling. When the lunch bell rang she smirked as she saw a group of wannabe gossipers sitting by on a bench. When she saw Sabrina she went over to tell them the dirt on Lila. That girl should not have gone near her man, and dissing Ladybug is a crime punishable by Social murder, something that she was ready to do.

"Sabrina did you hear?" Chloe asked in a purposefully loud tone.

"No what?" Sabrina said hanging on to every word that Chloe was saying. Just then then the gossipers quieted to hear what Chloe had to say. While her personality left a lot to be desired, she was the queen of scoops.

"That Lila girl, that seemed so amazing, is nothing but a big fraud!" Chloe threw her hair over her shouder as she rolled them. She was just getting started.

"You don´t say." Sabrina used a slightly sarcastic tone. It was no surprised tone like Chloe was hoping, but she could work with that. No one brings the queen out of her game.

"She lied about being friends with our dear Ladybug. Who knows what else she has lied about when talking to us?" Chloe paused her wanting to build suspense.

Sabrina leaned forward, an eager grin on her face. It was so obvious, what the rich girl before her was going to say next.

"But that's not all she did. No, she decided popularity built of nothing but lies wasn't enough, no she decided to trick poor Adrien into meeting up later, claiming it was a date, when it is clear that Adrien would never get to gether with the likes of her even if she wasn't a dirty liar!" Chloe practically growled the last part of her statement. She began to daydream about the day that her Adrikins would declare his dying love, but snaped out of it so she could finish the gossip.

"Worst is when Ladybug called her out on her despicable lies, instead of owning up to it and showing at least some guilt, she instead turned her back on our beloved savior." Chloe waited for the startled gasps to sound at the new tidbit.

"Lila now blames Ladybug for her misfortunes, when clearly Ladybug is innocent. How despicable can one girl get?" Chloe finished up now sure that Lila's social life was in the dumps. She was thrown when Sabrina, and the fledgling gossipers all started laughing at  _h_ _er_  at the same time.

"How hypocritical. The girl that has causes more grief and sadness than any bully in this school is calling an innocent girl despicable." Sabrina said with an off putting smirk.

"What did you just say Sabrina?! Stop saying nonsense and lies about me." Chloe was thrown by her loyal follower's words. As she went to shake Sabrina's shoulders to jog her mind her hand passed through her and like that Sabrina vanished.

"W-w-what?" Chloe squeaked out terrified at the sudden disappearance of her unofficial assistant. She looked torwards the gossipers as they laughed in unison steadily walking towards her. Chloe closed her eyes shaking with fear

"Oh look the little princess is scared. Good, you should be."

A figure emerged from the shadows, and Chloe's draw promptly dropped. It didn't make sense! How could she possibly be here?

"You looked surprised." She said with a vicious smirk.

"W-what are you doing here?" Chloe stammered out. Volpina had already been defeated so how could she be back?

"Hawk Moth offered me a chance at revenge on you and to have the attention of Paris rest solely on me. However while maikng sure of that I am going to have some fun with you." Volpina then grabbed Chloe and flew out of the school, being sure that no one had witnessed what just happened, but she was wrong.

"Why does it always have to be Chloe?" Marinette groaned into her hand. The Quad had decided to go out and try the new café that was opening when Marinette realized that she had left something in her locker. Telling the boys to go on ahead she had promptly grabbed the missing item when she witnessed the scene between Volpina and Chloe. Of course Hawk moth would strike again. It had been to quiet lately. Ugh. This was so not her day.

"Marinette we have to do something quick." Said Tikki flying out of her purse.

"I know Tikki but first I need to contact the boys to let them know that I will see them later." Marinette dialed up Nino.

 ~ ~ ~ With the Boys ~ ~ ~ 

Felix drummed his fingers on the table as he waited for Marinette to get to the Café. She should have grabbed what she needed by now. The boys had already placed an order.

"Honestly what is taking that girl so long?" Felix huffed out.

"Chilax bro. Mari will be here soon and if not she would call to let us know." Nino said resting a hand on his agitated friends shoulder. As if on que Nino's phone began to ring.

_"Come Fly with me (Oh–oh, Oh-oh)_

_Into a Fantasy (Oh-oh, Oh-oh)_

_Where you can be_

_Whoever you want to be_

_Come fly with me"_

"Speak of the devil." Nathanael said chuckling as Nino picked up the phone. Felix smiled at the ring tone choice. It fit her. It was light, yet powerful, a bit fantastical, with a strong uplifting message. Plus the song was performed by a great violist so he was a bit biased.

"Hey Mare we are already at the…. What?" Nino's eyes widened as his tone went from playful to concern in an instant. Felix and Nathanael tensed beside him. What was going on?

"You sure? Where did she go?... Alright thanks Mari." Nino ended the call and looked up his eyes heavy as he took in the concerned expression of his friends.

"Another Akuma villain has been created and has taken Chloe hostage. Marinette witnessed the whole thing." Nino answered the unasked question.

"There's more to it than that. Otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned. Chloe has been taken hostage plenty of times by Akumas. What's changed?" Nathanael said his eyes narrowed. Nino took of his hat and raked his hands through his hair.

"It's Volpina, she appeared again." Felix eyes widened. He had read about Volpina before. She was one of the toughest and craftiest villains that the superheroes had to face. The only thing was as she had detransformed in front of the heroes only her identity had remained a secret.

"I have to go and try and get a video of this or at least a picture for the Ladyblog. Alya left me in charge while she was gone. She will kill me if I don't follow this Akuma." Nino said.

"Like hell. You are not going, at least not alone." Felix piped up not willing to let his friend go in alone.

"Felix.."

"He's right Nino. You shouldn't go in alone. I will take care of the bill and catch up. Now go." Nathanael said. Realising that he wouldn't be able to convince his friends other wise, Nino and Felix took off. As soon as the bill was paid for Nathan ducked into an ally. He opened up his jacket and Sinnopa popped out.

"I didn't think that we would be put to the test so soon, but it can't be helped. You ready kid?"

"As I will ever be." Nathanael muttered. He was increably nervous about messing up on his first big mission, but this wasn't the time for doubts. Sometimes you need to jump off the deep end to learn how to swim.

"Sinn show time." Nathanael was encompassed in an orange light and when it dimmed Volpin took his place. He put on a wide and, pardon the pun, foxy grin.

"Volpina, you are in for a shock."

 ~ ~ ~ With Marinette ~ ~ ~ 

As Marinette jumped from building to building, she thought of places where she might find Volpina and Chloe, but the villian was nowhere to be found. When she checked the Louvre where Volpina had first shown up, the villain was nowhere to be found. She now was racking her brain for where the hostage and fox villain might be.

"Ladybug!"

Marinette turned her head she was shocked to see Chat standing on a roof adjacent to her own. However something seemed off about her partner.

"Chat, what are you doing here my kitten?" Marinette said as she approached her partner, adding the term of endearment to see check if this was actually him.

"What do you mean M'lady I am here to help stop Volpina with you. Come on follow me." Chat's tone filled with curiosity. Immediately Marinette's senses were on high alert. She narrowed her eyes. After the Copycat Akuma the two of them had gotten to know each other so well that they knew when something was the slightest bit off. This was not her partner. Remembering what Volpina's special power was Marinette drew back her yo-yo ready to destroy the illusion, when something else beat her to it. The only problem was that nothing was there.

"Wow that was a weak imitation of Chat if I ever saw one. Chat would have been flirtier," a distinctly male voice said from behind her. Marinette turned around quickly, yo-yo at the ready.

Who's there?" She asked in an alarmed tone.

"Woah easy there!" A voiced called. Where there was previously nothing, a boy appeared lowering his hood. A sheepish grin on his masked face. He was dressed in a fox themed outfit and around his neck was a collar with a pendent just like Volpina's.

"Sorry about not showing myself sooner. I saw the illusion being cast by Volpina and decided to lend a hand, but I wanted the element of surprise. Guess I over did it, huh." His tone was sincere, but Marinette was still suspicious. Why would Volpina use something she could be sure of that Ladybug hadn't seen. Would it be a trick to make it seem like there are more Akumas? Would this fox hero be another akuma? If not, why would he appear now?

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you and better yet how do I know that you not another illusion to throw me off?" The masked fox like teen grin took a cockier look to it.

"Technically you asked who's there. I did answer it by revealing myself. Also you just asked two more questions so you should have used the plural form." If Ladybug wasn't so suspicious she would have done a face palm and groan. Great, she was dealing with a smart-alec. She started to spin her yo-yo ready to tie this masked new comer up. This caused him to widen his animal like eyes and put up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, Alright, I'll talk. Yeesh tough crowd." He said with an eye roll. He straightened up and Marinette retracted the yo-yo for now. She would hear him out.

"My name is Volpin and I am your newest partner/crime fighter. I am the bearer of the Fox Miraculous. At your service Ladybug." He said with a mock solute. This caught Marinette's attention, but she kept her guard up.

"How do I know that you are telling the truth? Volpina has a copy of that pendant and when I first met her, she claimed to be the barer as well. Prove it." She challenged. The only thing Volpin did was smirk as if saying 'I knew you would say that'. He walked toward a chimney took out his escrima sticks and clanged them against the chimney.

"There is major differences between the origins of Volpina's and my pendents that I will let you in on. While we have similar looking pendents mine is the real miraculous, not an object with an Akuma in it. Mine is also powered by a Kwami named Sinnopa, just like yours is powered by Tikki. And before you ask, Sinn was the one that told me her name. Also her illusions will fall apart with the slightest bit of pressure. As you just saw I am solid therefore not an Illusion. Besides I don't believe that there has ever been two Akuma's running around at the same time, minus the Timebreaker incident, and that was under special circumstances." This caused Marinette's eyes to widen. No one before had ever known about Tikki, besides Chat Noir and he only knew that she had one just like he did. She had never told him her Kwami's name. Plus he was right about the illusions and the Akumas. However if he wanted her trust he would have to earn it.

Marinette walked up to Volpin. She then decide to test if he was real.

"If you are real then I just want to say sorry."

"For what?" The fox hero asked now on guard.

"This." Marinette buried her fist into his stomach. She met a solid body proving that he was at least real.

"You rapping of a chimney wasn't enough proof that you were solid. That was. Plus it is payback for sneaking up on me." Ladybug shruged and smirked at the fox.

"Fair enough." Volpin said, slightly winded.

"I don't believe you yet, but I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Let that serve as a warning to you not to make me mad. As much as I would love to grill you we can do that later on patrol tonight, assuming your not lying. Right now we have an Akuma to stop and a civilian to save. You said you saw which way Volpina went, lead the way." Volpin smiled and did another salute.

"With pleasure."

 ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

As he led Ladybug across Paris he began to ponder on their first meeting. He couldn't believe how much of a smart mouth he had been and how he had so much confidence. It was like the mask had let him act without a care in the world. He was cut off from his train of thought when Ladybug started speaking.

"Earlier you were invisible, how did you do that? Is it part of your powers?" Ladybug asked.

"Oh, I have a hood that gives me temporary invisibility. It only lasts for a few minutes before I need to let it charge up again. As for my powers, well there like Volpina's but they have a bit of an extra kick to them. I'd rather show you when the time comes." Nathan said not going into details.

"Before we start playing twenty questions, you mentioned patrol earlier. It would be easier to talk more than, so wait until then. Where do we meet up and at what time?" Nathan said deciding to keep his head in the game. He was still being playful, but thankfully not as flirty as Chat, but damn he really was being a smart mouth.

If he looked behind him he would have seen a small smile grace Ladybug's face along with an eye roll. This guy wasn't so bad, but she was worried about her partner as he hadn't called or bumped into her yet. She also felt a bit guilty about going with this strange hero, when she didn't know where Chat was. She took out her yo-yo and activated the call button. The call didn't go through meaning that he wasn't transformed. Now she was really worried. Where was that cat?

"For now let's assume your not lying, Chat and I change it up every once in a while but for now let's concentrate on the Akuma and seeing if your trust worthy. If you prove your self worthy I will call your miraculous number at 10 o'clock. That work for you Alec?" Ladybug asked

"Yes that's fine. By the way where is the black cat of Paris? Also Alec?" Nathan asked.

"That is something both of us would like an answer to. I assume that he can't find a good time to get away. Your in the business long enough, you end up running into that problem, a lot. As for Alec, it is short for smart-alec. If you intend to act like one might as well call you out on it." Ladybug said humor evident in her tone. Nathanael couldn't help but laugh. He could see why Chat was so infatuated with this girl. If he didn't have Marinette he would fall for this girl too.

"Wow we known each other less than a day and you already have a pet name for me. I am touched, my dear Ladybug. You'll have to forgive me for not having one for you." He grinned as he heard her groan, positive that she was smiling.

"Haha enough joking. We need to start thinking of where Volpina would go."

"Actually there's something that I would like to know. Who is Volpina? The only ones that saw who she was were you and Chat." Ladybug tensed up. She let out a sigh before answering him

"It was a girl named Lila. I was mad that she was claiming to be my friend when I had never met her before. She was with a boy in the park, Adrien, I think his name was, and I called her out on her lies. She was turned because of my actions." Nathanael could see she felt guilty so he decided to try to get her to relax.

"So the hero isn't perfect. Good to know."

"Never claimed to be." Ladybug smiled at his attempt to make her feel better.

"So she wants revenge. I saw her carrying someone over her shoulder do you know who it was?"

"Chloe Bourgeois according to the civilian I talked to." Ladybug came to a stop. That was it! She smiled at the puzzled fox hero.

"Now I think I know where Volpina is going. She loves attention as much as she loves revenge so she will go where she knows there is a crowd, while getting back at the person that "wronged her. She is headed to Le Grand Paris, there is a seminar there that the Mayor will be at, and she has his princess."

"Well done. We'll need a plan to take her down. She is crafty, however I believe this calls for fighting fire with fire, or in this case illusions. What do you say Ladybug?"

"Volpin, you might just be on to something there. What have you got in mind?"

 ~ ~ ~ With Nino and Felix ~ ~ ~ 

"Dude are you sure we should be going to Le Grand Paris?" Nino asked his friend.

"I am positive Sebastian. You said that Marinette told you that Volpina took Bourgeois with her. Everyone knows that the Mayor would do anything for his daughter. He is holding a press meeting there. From what I understand is that most Akuma's are a bit showy, especially Volpina. What better place to go then one she knows will give her lots of coverage?" Felix said positive that he was right. After he learned about the existence of Akuma's and had come up with patterns that each of the villains followed. When his friends called him a perfectionist they weren't kidding. Deciding to go with is Nino started videotaping. Sure enough, not ten minutes later Volpina was seen gliding down onto the roof with Chloe in her grasp.

"Bagheerah, you never cease to astound me with that logic of yours." Nino said quietly to his friend before turning the camera to himself.

"Hey Ladybloggers. This is DJ Nino, filling in for the main Lady blogger herself, Alya. We are outside Le Grande Paris where we just saw the Akuma known as Volpina land on the roof with a hostage. I am going in to see what is happening." Stopping rolling for now, mostly because Felix had asked to not be seen on camera yet, the boys walked up to the concierges desk.

"Excuse me good sir but might I ask where is the seminar being held? My and my companion were assigned by our teacher to cover it as an extra credit project." Felix inquired with a winning smile that only would fool even close friends and family 2 out of 3 times. Nino gasped at his friend, if he didn't know that he was lying he would have never doubted Felix's words.

"I am sorry kid but only those authorized are allowed entrance to the seminar." The man behind the desk stated.

"That is good since I am on the guest list. My name is Felix Bastille, and I believe my parents have left me two passes." Felix said now changing his voice from casual to business, losing the smile in the process. The concierge eyes widened.

"M-my apologies Mr. Bastille your parents weren't certain that you were going to attend." The man said suddenly very nervous.

"Yes, well I am and if you don't mind I would like to go to the seminar now so if you are done wasting our time please tell us where we are going." Felix said his face stoic.

"Of course. The seminar is being held on the top floor." The man said his hand shaking as he held out to laminated badges.

"Thank you good day sir." Felix nodded curtly at the man, before walking away with Nino.

"Phoebus, what was that? How did you swing those passes?" Nino questioned his friend.

"My parents mentioned this thinking that I might be interested in coming to this thing and reserved me an extra spot so I could invite one of you guys along. I had no intention of using them, as these things are almost always boring as all hell. When I realized that the jerk wouldn't let up, I decided that it was better to just use them and put him in his place than argue for who knows how long. Now let's see what's going on up top." Felix said to his friend. As they exited the elevator they saw nothing but chaos.

"I/You better start rolling." The teens said in unison.

~ ~ ~ A few minutes prior ~ ~ ~

Volpina landed on the roof with the whiny blonde and quickly cast her aside. It had gotten so bad that she stopped to not only cast an illusion of Chat Noir to keep Ladybug busy but also to get duck tape to at a store that she terrorized just to shut the blonde brat up. She decided to rip the duck tape covering her mouth.

"Ow! When my father hears about this-"

"Let me stop you there you bleach blond banshee. I  _want_  your father to know that I have you captured. Then way he will do whatever I tell him to keep his precious baby girl safe. Now let's get going, shall we?" She put the tape back on her mouth before pulling the struggling girl once more onto her shoulder.

"We've got a seminar to crash." Volpina activated her floating powers before going into an open window. The attention was on the podium up front where the Mayor was about to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen-" Mayor Bourgeois began.

"We ask you to turn you attention to the Beautiful Super in the back." Volpina cut in.

"Who are you? Release my daughter at once you fiend." Mayor Bourgeois thundered. All the civilians whispered about the newest Akuma villain. The cameras kept going back and forth between her and the mayor.

"I am the fiend you say. It's funny the only fiendish ones that I see are you and that dreadful daughter of yours. She is a bully and belittles everyone around her that doesn't kiss her feet. Before I was akumatized I did a little digging. She has caused more Akuma attacks than any other person in the City!" As Volpina paused as murmurs came from the crowd. Two boys that had just snuck in were surprised. Why the heck were they listening to the Villain?

Chloe looked out at the crowd. why was no one coming to her defense?

"She was involved with a lot of the younger Akumas."

"Wow this girl is a piece of work."

Volpina smiled. This was exactly what she wanted. Even if she was defeated from now on whispers would always follow Chloe.

Nino had enough. He was tired of people just following her word like sheep.

"Why the hell should we listen to you. You are a villain. You have threatened the life of our heroes! You can preach all you want that you are trying to just let the public see the true menace, but that doesn't change the fact that you are a villain yourself, consumed by your own hatred."

"Hatred? Hatred?! I do believe it is self defense. Why would I do all this if it wasn't for someone making me feel little, unworthy not treated fairly? Why can´t I have friends like everyone else and everything she does is forgiven? What is a small lie to fit in in comparison to someone who actively loves to make other people suffer? At least I make other people smile!"

A tragic tale that gets Volpina the simpthy of the crowd, even if her true intentions bleed through a little too much, but that is the thing that gets her the sympathy.

Nino's eyes widened. Lila was Volpina!

"You sure about that Lila?" He said with a smirk.

"Have I ever damaged anyone's reputation? Have I ever hurt anyone of you, mentally or physically? Have I ever tried to sabotage you? The answer is no. I know of several people that did get hurt and you would be a liar to tell me that Chloe didn't do all these things!"

"Your wrong! True Chloe was the catalyst, but the responsibility of the chaos caused by the Akumas rests solely on Hawk Moth. Your patron." With that the crowd firmly sided with Nino.

"You didn´t deny that she was the cause. That is all that I wanted. Hawk Moth only gives power to those who are weak and can´t fight for their own, but you won´t believe me either way. I got what I wanted."

She brought her flute to her lips and summoned tigers, wolves, bears, and multiple missals, all aimed at various people throughout the room. This caused wide panic as everyone was trying to escape. Volpina directed the animals to block the exits.

A purple butterfly outline surrounded her eyes.

**{"I thank you for your high praise Volpina but now that you have had your revenge, I expect my payment."}**

"Of Course Hawk Moth." With those words the butterfly vanished and she made her way onto the platform. to make her announcement.

"You had best keep rolling I want all of Paris to see my power and know that they are powerless to stop me. Did you hear that Ladybug? If you even try to save any of these people you will be sorry. Surrender your Miraculouses or they will all pay the price."

 ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

"That was just cliché villain right there." Felix whispered to his friend, careful not to be overheard on video.

"Viewers this just turned into a dangerous hostage situation and we are the hostages. Chat Noir and Ladybug I hope you are on you have a plan." Nino said in a low tone trying not to laugh at his friends commentary.

"Volpina, for fox sake just give it up. You won't outfox us this time. After all you are just a faux knock off." The cocky voice of Chat Noir called, emerging from the skylines. Felix slapped his hand to his face. These puns were as bad as the ones that Adrien used to use. He pitied Ladybug for constantly having to put up with him and his awful puns.

"Chat stop the puns and start the fight." Ladybug said after face palming. 

"Ladybug you are mine!" Came Volpina's rage filled voice as she swung her weapon at the spotted hero and engaged her in combat. Soon the two heroes were leaping to and fro around the scared civilians avoiding the furious fox villain.

_Pop!_ Felix turned his head and quickly signaled Nino to start filming what was going on behind him. It was Ladybug and a hero that was not Chat Noir! They were destroying the various creatures and doing it by just striking them.

"Nino, Volpina is an illusionist! All of these things that she's summoned aren't real." Felix furiously whispered. Just then the heroes realized that someone had noticed them. Ducking behind a planter the heroes approached the teens.

"What are you doing here?" Ladybug hissed out. She groaned as she noticed the phone in Nino's hand.

"You're the boy who is friends with the girl who runs the Ladyblog. You are here to record the latest Akuma attack for her, aren't you?" Ladybug said in an exasperated tone. Nino could only nod his head, not fully comprehending that one of the heroes of Paris was talking to him.

"I am going to tell you the same thing that I told her over a dozen times. Get out of here. It is not safe and recording a battle isn't worth endangering yourself." Ladybug said.

Ladybug as much as I agree with you on chewing out these civilians, there isn't time. Volpina is getting dangerously close to destroying my illusions. Time to take down the phony." Said the fox based hero. Just as he spoke Volpina had finally landed a hit on the Ladybug illusion.

"What! How is that possible?" Shrieked the Akuma.

"Too late. Well that was good while it lasted." Ladybug said as she stood up. Volpina's face took on a look of sheer loathing. She then put on a sinister smirk.

"Ladybug let's see if you can actually make the right choice."Volpina brought the flute to her lips and created duplicates upon duplicates, as she surround Ladybug. Ladybug narrowed her eyes and swung her yo-yo to dispel the clones, however that was just what Volpina wanted. As the yo-yo finished its circle Volpina destroyed a nearby pillar trapping the yo-yo underneath. Ladybug's eyes widened as she started tugging on the now very stuck yo-yo.

"Looks like the Bug is stuck. Now lets put this disgusting insect out of its misery." Volpina said bring down her staff. Ladybug cursed under her breath as she let go of her yo-yo to start ducking and weaving trying to avoid the staff. The staff grazed her multiple times and she could practically feel the bruises forming. As Ladybug backed away she miscalculated and ended up stumbling over a chair that had been knocked down. As she lay on her back she realized there was no way that she could avoid this next blow and panic entered her eyes. Volpina flashed the fallen hero a victorious smirk.

"Night, night little bug." Volpins said as she brought down her staff and Ladybug closed her eyes.

_Clang!_

Ladybugs eyes flew open and her jaw dropped. Standing before her was Volpin blocking the incoming attack with his escrima sticks.

"Ladybug get your yo-yo. I will handle the knock off fox." He gritted out. Ladbug snapped out of her shock. She had a Akuama to defeat.

"Right." She said as she left Volpin to temporarily deal with his villain counterpart.

Volpina was thrown by the new comers presence, but also enraged that he dare interrupt her as she was about to destroy the accursed Ladybug.

"Who the hell are you?" Volpina snarled. Volpin let out a smirked.

"Me? I am the actual holder of the fox miraculous, Volpin. And you are just a sad copy. Now it's time to end your show." He added some extra pressure causing Volpina to jump back. Just as she had set her foot down Volpin was on her thrusting his weapons at her trying to knock her down.

"Why did you defend that pathetic useless excuse for a heroine?" Volpina asked, feeling frustrated that someone that had powers like her would side with Ladybug of all people. Volpin showed her a pitying smile.

"You are so blinded by your hate that you don't see the good that Ladybug and Chat Noir have done for this city and its people. I was given a chance to do some good along side these heroes."

"But whats in it for you?" She asked.

"Who doesn't want to be a hero? To fight crime and kick ass?" Volpin asked in turn. Volpina let out a laugh.

"No, what is the real reason? Or are you just so shallow that you want to be seen as a hero?" She said trying to taunt him and make him slip up. Ladybug paused in her task and turned her attention to the battle. She had also wanted to know what motivated the new crime fighter to take up the mantle. Volpina glared at her, but realized that she was telling the truth. While the appeal of being hero had been a big reason that he took up the mask, it wasn't the real reason.

"To redeem myself." Volpina and Ladybug's eyes widened. neither the villain nor hero had thought that he was going to actually answer.

"What?" Volpina asked not understanding what he meant.

"To redeem myself. I Turned my back on people who I cared about once. I left them alone when we needed to stick together, when they needed me. I might have been forgiven by them, but I haven't forgiven myself. Now I have a chance at redemption by to be a pillar of support for both Ladybug and Chat Noir and a force for good. Never again will I turn my back on someone who needs help. This Fox is as cleaver as he is loyal. Unlike you." Volpin snarled as he finally landed a blow causing her to falter. Ladybug tugged free her yo-yo at last and felt that something had shifted. One thing she knew for certain was that in that moment Volpin had earned her trust and her respect.

"Hey Volpina! I've got two words for you: Lucky Charm!" Ladybug activated her powers. The hearts retreated to give her a shepherds crook in the ladybug pattern. As soon she got it she was attacked by Volpina. She joined into the fray. She turned to the male.

"Volpin activate your powers." He smiled.

"Aye, aye captain. Fox Field." Volpin brought his eskrama sticks together and started playing his flute. A cage began to form around Volpina.

"Nice try, but your illusions are no more real than mine!" She confidently walked towards the bars but to her surprise they were solid. Using the Akuma villain's destracion Ladybug used the crook to yank the necklace off of her neck. She dropped it on the ground and slamed the crook down on the ground. As it cracked the Akuma butterfly wriggled its way out of the now destroyed pendent. Ladybug spotted the pesky insect and started the familiar process.

No more evil doing for you little to de-evilize!" She said as she spun her yoyo.

"Gotcha!" She shouted as the Akuma was taken into her yo-yo. She pushed a button and a now white butterfly emerged.

"Bye, bye little butterfly." She picked up the sheppards crook. Nino nudged Felix.

"You might want to watch this closely."

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Felix mouth dropped as an aray of red and black dots appeared and all of the damage was set right and the cage dissolved. Volpina was covered in a black and purple cloud that realesed to show Lila sitting on the floor looking dazed.

"Huh?" She said making Felix realize that the Villains truly did lose their memories.

Volpin lowered the flute and turned to Ladybug a giant smile on his face. Ladybug turned to him and stuck out her hand.

"I trust you. Now normally I do my fist bump with Chat Noir, but he isn't here and while it is worrying that he never showed. Right now we need a victory of our own. Any ideas Alec?" she said with a smile. Volpin was ecstatic she trusted him.

"I have one idea." He held up this index finger and thumb shaping it like a check mark.

"Do this with the opposite hand." When he saw her make it he stepped closer and grabbed her hand. Now their hands formed a V.

"This will stand for victory. How we wouldn't have achieved it without the other." He smiled suddenly feeling shy.

"I like it. To a new partnership." Their banding moment was broken up by an exclamation from Nino.

"Dude this is huge! Viewers you are looking at the emerging of a new hero. Let's hear it for Volpin!" With that he finished rolling and took in the now embaressed heroes.

_Beep, Beep, Beep!_ Both the heroes' eyes widened at that sound.

"We need to go now." With those words both heroes left the building Ladybug by yoyo and Volpin by levitating to a building before taking off.

"Glad you came with." Nino said with a smirk.

"Shut up Genie. Let's call Marinette and Nathanael and meet up at the bakery. Something tells me that Marinette will be yelling our ears off about endangering ourselves and Nathanael will get an earful for letting us go off as well. Plus the longer we are here the more likely Bourgeois is going to spot me." With that the boys hurried to the elevator thankfully avoiding Chloe's shrew gaze. Although both were laughing as they heard her screech as the duck tape was removed.

 ~ ~ ~ with Nathanael ~ ~ ~ 

Nathanael slipped into a darkened abandoned ally not far from the cafe he was originally at. As the transformation released Sinnopa flew up to her charge's face with a smile on her face.

"Well done Nathanael you did a great job! Your first Akuma was a success." Her voice filled with pride.

"That was… Wow. I am having a hard time believing that I just did all of that. I just saved all of those people. I just helped defeat my evil counterpart. I teased Ladybug!" Nathanael ran his hands through his hair, his smile never leaving his face.

"Indeed. I had no idea that you could be so cheeky." Sinnopa said with a teasing grin. He let out a breathless laugh. Sinn face took on a concerned look.

"Did you mean what you said to Volpina earlier?" she asked worried about her charge. Nathan looked at her and smiled.

"I did. I hadn't realized it until Volpina confronted me, but I did this for redemtion for both what I did as Evilustrator and what I did to my friends in the past. I know they have let it go, but I haven't." Sinnopa smiled. This boy was going to be great, she could just feel it.

_"Under the sea!_

_Under the sea!_

_Darling it's better_

_Down where it's wetter_

_Take it from me!"_

Nathanael answered the phone with a grin. That song never failed to make him smile, especially since he can remember Nino belting it out as kids.

"Hey Nino! I saw the stream. Can you believe that there is a new hero in Paris?" Nathanael feigned disbelief.

"You will have to tell us all about it. Yes, I am not too far from Mari's house, I will start heading there now."

The grin slipped off of Nathanael's face as the last words Nino said sunk in.

"Marinette is so going to kill all of us."Sinn started to giggle.

"I can't wait to hear this."

"Shut up." Nathanael said as he made his way to Marinette's house, bracing himself for the inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that acts as Marinette's ring tone is "Into a fantasy" by Alexander Rybak from How To Train Your Dragon 2 I thought it was appropriate. "Under the sea" was Nino's. If you guys have suggestions for other personal ringtones for the characters, including Alya and Adrien, let me know the song and for which character. 
> 
> Volpin's power does include, like the peacock hero, limited levitation. Chat's baton and Ladybug's yo-yo act as their cells when transformed and so does Volpins Eskrima sticks. They do it in the same manner as Chat's, but he can use either.
> 
> If you are somewhat curious what the V looks like I have put a picture on my DeviantArt profile.


	8. Alerts and Lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear Readers!
> 
> We get a teaser of Alya and Adrien in this chapter as I know a lot of people have been asking for them.
> 
> Also I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my version of Felix and the other Oc's.
> 
> To all those fan artist out there tell me about your artwork. I would love to see it!

 

* * *

~ Before Volpina's initial attack- outside of Paris~

"And that's a wrap! We will start up again in the next outfit in and half an hour." The photographer called.

Adrien almost slumped forward in relief. This shoot was for a designer that his dad was doing a collaboration with. Thankfully he wasn't the only model for this job, but that also meant that there was a lot of waiting around doing nothing. Thank God he had his phone or he would be bored out of his mind.

Seeing that her young charge was free Natalie briskly made her way over to Adrien.

"Follow me. While you were on shoot I was able to procure a balanced lunch for you." Natalie said handing him a water bottle. Adrien looked at her thankfully but inwardly he was lamenting over the loss of a good meal. Natalie's definition of a balanced lunch was a salad, no dressing, with a serving of fruit on the side, and a water to drink. That's what she always got him on these shoots.

"Thanks Natalie." Adrien said with a semi-fake grin. at least she cared enough to get him food and eat with him. The two of them made their way to a free bench to eat. Just as they were sitting down, the alert tone for Ladyblog sounded.

_"Miraculous! Simply the best._

_Up to the test when things go wrong!_

_Miraculous! The luckiest._

_The power of of love always so strong!_

_Miraculous!"_

Adrien's eyes widened. Something had happened to his lady! He scrambled to find his phone. When he finally found it he started to unlock it when it was snatched away from him by Natalie.

"No phones during the shoot. You know this Adrien." Natalie said to the model before her.

Adrien winced at the reminder. While the phone had kept his boredom at bay, he tecknically wasn't allowed to have it with him during a shoot.

"But Natalie, its break. I am allowed to have it now." Adrien said trying to get news about his lady.

"Correction,you were allowed it during break. You should have though about that before you snuck it with you on set. You will get it back at the end of the day when we get back to the hotel." Natalie said.

"But-" Adrien said trying to protest.

"No buts. That is the final say in the mater. Now eat your lunch." Natalie said drawing the conversation to a close.

Adrien could almost see Plagg laughing at his plight. What if there was an attack? What if Ladybug was in danger? Adrien wanted nothing more than to escape to transform and call his lady but he had had a few to many close calls with Natalie when transforming, plus that was when he was in Paris. After having a inward freak out session Adrien calmed down. The only thing he could do was work hard so that he could finish up the shoot and get his phone. Besides its not like anything monumental could happen while the Chat was away. Oh he cracked himself up.

~ ~ ~ With Alya ~ ~ ~

~After Volpina has been defeated- A different city outside of Paris~

Alya was in heaven the last week had been an amazing experience. She had covered events that she only ever dreamed about being able to go to. As she and her mentor made their way to the hotel they were staying at she couldn't help but feel incredibly blessed that the women before her had though she had potential and took it on herself to nurture Alya's gifts.

"Good job today Alya. You were on task and asking good questions." Wren Silven said to her young intern. When she stumbled on the Ladyblog she was honestly quite impressed by what she saw. There were a few outlandish theories (who had ever heard of a radioactive bug?) that showed the girls true age, but for the most part it was a well constructed blog, if a bit disorganized, and was basically the go to sight for all things superhero related. She wanted to help the girl reach her full potential and so far the girl hadn't let her down.

"Thanks Ms. Silven!" Alya said beaming.

"Alya I think by now it is okay to call me Wren. After all, I am not that much older than you." A fact that was true she was only 25.

"I feel like I have improved so much since the start of this trip. I feel like a real reporter now." Alya said in a slightly smug tone.

"Don't get cocky. You still have a long way to go before you are ready for the big leagues. You have improved, but you are still asking some of the wrong questions. You also need to stop basing some of your questions on gossip." Wren warned giving Alya a light glare. She had the decency to look abash.

During the first week they had an interview with an actress, Selena Theron, who was in town filming. Normally this wasn't the type of story that Wren covered, but Wren thought it would be good for Alya to see what a professional celebrity interview was like, plus Selena was an old friend of hers. It had gone well until Alya had been overly excited and had blurted out a question regarding a rumor about the Selena's attitude toward a director that she had worked with that had said some less than savory things about her. The rumor was of course false, but it upset the actress that they were still going around. Wren had a thorough talking to with Alya as she thought that a girl as intelligent as herself would have had better senses than to listen to mindless gossip.

"Sorry." Alya mumbled.

"Sigh. Alya I am not mad anymore. Just know I say this because I care and I don't want you to end up making that mistake later on down the line. You are just lucky Serena is an old friend and very understanding women." Wren said to the sullen girl.

"How is that you are friends with her? Normally actors are not as friendly with the press." Alya asked curiosity peeked.

"A story for another time." Wren said with a mysterious smile. Alya smiled as she unsilenced her phone only to see that she got three alerts. Just then she got another.

_"Miraculous! Simply the best._

_Up to the test when things go wrong!_

_Miraculous! The luckiest."_

Alya's eyes widened, as the familiar ring tone played.

"That's the alert tone for the Ladyblog!" Alya scrambled to pick up her phone cutting the song of before it could finish. She groaned. Of course her phone would die just when she needed it to be charged. Wren chucked.

"Told you to charge it this morning. Lets head up to the room we can pull up the alert using the laptop." Alya practically spinted to the elevator, as Wren chuckled at her entusiasm.

"By the way I thought that since you were here that there wouldn't be any updates for the Ladyblog?" Wren asked.

"I gave my pass code to Nino, the guy I am dating. He is a amuture director and has filmed some of my videos for me. The only way that there could be an alert is if he downloaded a video of it." Alya said slightly agitated. Nino knew better than to mess with her blog, so why did he feel the need to add a new post? Wren smirked at Alya.

"For a clever girl, you can miss some obvious clues." Alya looked at her mentor puzzled.

"What do you mean?" The pair exited the elevator making their way to their room. Wren stayed silent until she was inserting the key card into the door.

"It's quite obvious. The only reason that there would be new alerts is if there had been another Akuma attack." She held the door open as Alya dove at her laptop. She quickly pulled up the site. Sure enough right at the top of the page was a new post that had a video.  _"Fangs Bared: A New Day_ _"_ was what the post was called. Alya groaned with fond exasperation. Nino was a film buff and whenever he added a new post he would go for the most dramatic title he could think of. Wren look over the teens shoulder and chuckled. Who ever this Nino kid was he certainly had flare. Wren decided to speak up as Alya went to click the link.

"Alya as much as I would love to look at the post, we can't. We have another event in ten minutes. The only reason we came back to the hotel was so we could get more supplies and freshen up." Alya looked up in horror.

"What! But I need to know what happened." Alya pleaded. Wren shook her head at the girls dramatics.

"Alya the attack is already over. I admire your drive towards your blog, but remember, this trip is for you to learn to be a better reporter. The alert will still be there when we get back. Plus then you will be able to have more peoples response and most likely other people's video so you can add more information to the post." Wren reasoned with the girl.

Alya groaned but knew the older women was right. She sighed as she shut the laptop.

"Good girl. Now come on. The guy we are interviewing is a web designer for a few very successful businesses. If we have time you can ask him if he has some ideas or advice to better organize your blog." Wren chuckled as she saw the spark return to Alya's eyes. The girl had a bright future ahead of her.

"What are we waiting for lets go." Alya said. The Akuma attack news could wait.

~ ~ ~ With Marinette~ ~ ~

Marinette sighed as she made her way to her house. The latest fight had been brutal and if it weren't for the fact that she had enhanced durability and healing, she would be as colorful as her counterpart. It was unique in many ways the first being that there was a return performance by Volpina, one of her least favorite villains to date. Next was the fact the introduction of a new barer of a miraculous. Lastly was the fact that Chat, her partner, her rock, her kitty, hadn't been there fighting beside her. That was what was troubling her the most. Chat had always fought by her side since this whole situation had started and it felt wrong that he wasn't there beside her.

As she touched down in an ally right next to her house the suit fell away in a ring of pink sparkles leaving her normal clothes and an exhausted and hungry Kwami in its wake. Normally she would have entered through her bedroom but her parents knew that she was out with the boys, so she had to enter through the normal way. How boring.

"Alright Tikki lets go tell my parents what happened and get you and me some food."

"Fine with me Marinette. You have questions no doubt." Tikki replied. Marinette smiled. Her little friend knew her so well.

"Your right I do, but now isn't the time. Besides we are due for company and a phone call." With that Marinette carefully put the exhausted Kwami back in her bag. As she entered the bakery she was swept up in a bear hug.

"Marinette thank goodness your safe. We heard about the Akuma attack." Her father said in a relieved tone.

"How did you know about the Akuma attack?" Marinette asked as her father released her.

"Felix called us to tell us what was going on. He said that you had called Nino, who was with him, and said that Volpina appeared. Why didn't you come home sooner or at least call? We were worried sick." Marientte felt a stab of guilt. This is what she hated about her other life.

"Long story short, I was at school and I saw Volpina take Chloe. After I called the boys I saw Ladybug out on patrol. I told her what happened and she advised me to stay at the school for my safety. To be honest I hadn't even though to call I was to wrapped up in the attack. I am sorry I worried you." Marinette said apologizing but also giving a half truth.

"By the way did Felix tell you what he and Nino were doing when they called you?" Marinette asked. Her eyes narrowed and arms crossed. Tom had a bad feeling.

"No he didn't."

"Well according to the Ladyblog, he was video tapping the Akuma Attack and, knowing my boys I am betting that Felix was with him." Marinette said with a cyanide smile.

"Oh no." Her father groaned. He knew how his daughter hated when Alya went off in chase of Akuma's and now two of her closest friends did the exact same thing.

"Oh yes. All of the boys are in for it when I get my hands on them. After I get them fed of course. Did Mama make extra?"

"It's your mother. She always makes extra and even if she didn't she would be happy to make more anyway." Sabine had a love of cooking, inspired by her uncle and loved to share it whenever she could.

"Alright Papa." Marinette said, pecking her father on the cheek.

"Wait Marinette. Take these upstairs. You can have them after you eat." Tom said, as he handed Marinette a batch of chocolate chip cookies that by the look of it were fresh from the oven.

"Thank you." She said, giving her dad a hug. This was just what Tikki needed. Upstairs she headed straight to the kitchen after dropping one of the cookies into her purse.

"Mama I am home." She called. When she spotted her mother she made sure to give her a tight squeeze. 

"Welcome back sweetheart. I am glad that you are home safe. now did you actually get to eat?" Sabine said with a smile. She trusted her daughter to look after herself/

"No I didn't get to eat, the Akuma attack-"

"Say no more. I will go get some food for you. You shouldn't go hungry. Will it be just you or are we going to be having company?" Sabine asked, already sure of the answer.

_"I'm an angel with a shotgun_

_Fighting til' the wars won_

_I don't care if heaven won't take me back"_

"Yes Mama, you can expect company."

Marinette looked at her phone as it blared Felix's ring tone. True to her word she had changed it after the chase in the living room. She chose this song as she felt that it fit her grey-green eyed friend as it was a song where a person would put everything on the line for the one they cared about, something that she knew Felix would do if it ever came to that. It also had an amazing violin piece that she could just picture her friend doing.

"Phoebus, you had best have a very good explanation for what the hell you were thinking going after an Akuma when you get here." Marinette said, not letting her friend have any lee way.

"I am at my house. Mom has made extra food and I doubt you actually ate before you jetted off…. No I am not going to deny you food. As if my mom would let me….. Yes I will hold of yelling until after we eat…. No you cannot get out of this lecture, but I promise, this will be the big yelling, after that when you go out following Akuma's I will yell less…. Have you forgotten Alya's extracurricular activities? I am used to it, but that doesn't mean I will worry any less." Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Yes I do so know that you will go after them again. You are to curious not to….. Yes I did just compare you to a cat…. Alright I will see you then. Bye" She said hanging up.

"I swear he always now just the right buttons to push to get me riled up." Marinette said in exasperation.

"The same can be said about you for him. You two complement each other in a way not many can touch." Her mother said in fondness.

"Now can you do me a favor?"

"Sure what is it Mom?" Marinette asked. Her mother flashed a wicked smile.

"Will you let me handle the yelling this time?"

Marinette broke out in a wide smile. While most people feared her temper when she actually got mad, it was not nearly a terrifying as when her mother decide to show hers.

"I think I can do that." Marinette said chuckling. Oh she was  _so_  going to record this.

"Marinette Nathanael's here! Shall I send him up?" Her father's booming voice called.

"Sure dad." Marinette called back.

Nathanael made his way upstairs knowing that he was in for it. As he entered the kitchen area he saw Marinette with her arms crossed with a slight glare marring her face. Nathanael winced as he took in her stormy expression this would not end well for him and the boys.

"I'm in trouble aren't I?" He ran his finger through his hair. Marinette said nothing. She walked up to him, her face void of expression. Nathanael closed his eyes and waited for her to start yelling.

No noise came.

Instead he felt two arm encompass him in a hug. He opened his eyes and began to think that he might be dreaming. Marinette was willingly hugging him, in fact she initiated it.

"I am confused are you mad or…?" He asked, baffled by her actions. Marinette laughed he noticed that she had a few small tears in her eyes, which she promptly brushed away as she released him.

"I am furious that you didn't stop the boys as they went after the Akuma, but I am glad that you didn't end up in that situation and that you are unharmed." Nathanael felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He felt guilty for making her worry, but even more guilt over the fact that from now on he would have to lie to her whenever it came to Akuma attacks.

"So why aren't you yelling?" Marinette rolled her eyes at the red heads question.

"You want me to start yelling?" Marinette said.

"NO! No, no that is not what I meant. I am fine with you not yelling." Nathanael said in a panicked tone, waving his hands around.

"Alright then. I am assuming that you guys didn't eat yet, so mom's fixing us lunch."

"I am fine with that."

"Good. It was nonnegotiable anyways." Sabine said, poking her head out of the kitchen, flashing the red head a smile. Marientte and Nathanael chuckled before Marinette pulled him in for another hug.

"I am glad you are okay Robin Hood, and though I am mad thank you for insisting that Felix went with Nino." Nathan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. How the hell did she know that? Marinette let out a laugh and flashed a smirk.

"Please. I know my boys. You and Felix would never have let Nino go in alone. Nino would have gone regardless as he is scared that if he didn't get something for the Ladyblog Alya might kill him."

"That's….practically spot on." Marinette let out a giggle. It was always funny to watch her friends' expressions when she figured out what they did and why. It was something that she and Felix would do when they were younger and they were rarely wrong. The reasoning was one of her biggest assets as Ladybug. Plus she knew that was going to happen, even if she hadn't seen them at the hotel.

"So have you watched the entire video of the fight yet?" Nathanael asked wanting to see her reaction to his hero side.

"No I haven't. Have you?" She asked.

"Parts I started watching late into the fight so lets check out what we missed." Nathanael said heading for her bedroom. Nathanael was surprised that Marinette wasn't mad but in a good way. He was hopeful that he would get back to school with his hearing intact. Unless of course Felix and Nino did something to stupid before he and Ladybug had gotten there.

~ ~ ~ With Nino and Felix ~ ~ ~

Nino let out a large sneeze.

"Bless you." Felix said without hesitation.

"Thanks. I think I am going to need it." Nino said back. As they made their way to the bakery, the boys got increasingly nervous.

Marinette hated when Alya through herself in the line of fire to get a video for her blog. It was something the two of them often argued about. The boys had just done the same thing as Alya did, but it was a bit worse for them. Alya might have become Marinette's best friend over the last year, but the Nino and Felix were two of her boys, the ones that knew her first and in most ways best. Just like she was theirs. What they now feared was something that Marinette had yet to show Alya, but they knew all too well. Her temper.

Marinette was a pretty even tempered person for the most part, but there were times that her temper got the better of her and in those instances no one, not even Chloe, wanted to be on her bad side and if Nino was going to be honest with himself he was more scared of Marinette than Alya. Alya was direct about her anger but Marinette's fury could at times be incredibly vindictive.

Nino shuddered as he remembered when he accidentally destroyed an outfit that she was working on for a month and didn't fess up. When she finally found out it was him she decided that he needed to make it up to her by being her practice dummy when she made a dress (he is sure she still has pictures) or when she decided to show of a new move she learned at the group's judo classes. He learned from then on to be honest when he messed up or he would end up in some interesting and painful situations.

Tom look at the boys in sympathy as they entered the bakery. He knew the temper of the females of his family well. The boys were in for it.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip~ ~ ~ 

Lunch was enjoyed by the Quad and Mari's parents. They laughed about a the embarising stories and just enjoyed each others company. It reminded the boys why this was usually the place that the hung out. The home was embodiment of the family, warm and welcoming. However that didn't mean that half the table wasn't on the edge of their seat.

The trio of boys kept glancing at one another in worry. Marinette hadn't even mentioned the subject since Nino and Felix got there. Nathanael told them that she had watched the Akuma battle looking pointedly at Nino. The DJ had paled at the mention of this. He wished she would just kill him. It would be a far more merciful punishment than what she was most likely going to dish out.

Marinette tried very hard to keep the serial killeresqe smirk off of her face. The boys kept glancing at her in worry, but she wasn't the one they had to worry about. She wiped her mouth once more before standing up and clearing her plate and placing it in the sink.

"I will be right back." Marinette said excusing herself. She made her way up to her room silently chuckling all the way. She had forgot how much fun this could be.

"Marinette why are you laughing?" Tikki asked her amused friend.

"I am laughing at the boys reaction. They think that I am the one that is dealing out the tongue lashing when in fact it is my mom's job this time."

"Ah," was all Tikki had to say. In the months that she had live in the Dupain-Cheng household Tikki had learned a few things. While Tom might look scarier, it was his petite wife that was the one to be feared in the household. Tikki wished that she could feel bad for the boys, but really they had brought it on themselves.

Marinette grinned as she grabbed her fully charged camera and set in to video mode. This was going to be fun.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made the kids do a judo class as I highly doubt that Marinette is that good without a bit of training and I extended it to the others as well just because they also have experience. I also am making Marinette a former gymnastic member as I feel that she is the type of girl who would join to help develop coordination which she does, just not off the mats. Adrien has the advantage of being a fencer and I have taken basic fencing classes so I know that you need to be flexible to an extent, in relatively good shape and have a good grasp of balance. All which Chat has shown, plus he kinda does use his pole a bit like a fencing foil. I feel like the yoyo bit has just come with practice as she does have a hard time with it at first as shown in the origins episode.
> 
> The song that I used for Felix's ring tone was "Angel with a shotgun" by The Cab.
> 
> I highly doubt that any of you don't know Alya and Adrien's alert tone. I couldn't help but use it. This is going to be the universal alert tone for the Ladyblog for live streams and uploads which allows the heroes to know that something might be going down when they here this tone.
> 
> Just to give you an update on my oc list:
> 
> Benjamin- He is a man who is 27 years old and has a twin brother and younger sister. A tall brunette, with brown eyes, who looked like an athlete. He was a superb chef and had a keen mind and eye for details. He had been studying for his detective's license with his twin before they had to quit to take care of their younger sister, after their parents died. Ben had took the job with the Bastille's because of the pay, almost all of it went to his family. He is a kind man and is a bit reluctant to disclose his past. He is a bit of a jokster and is pretty easy to talk to
> 
> Kyle- He is a man who is 27 years old and has a twin brother and younger sister. A tall brunette, with brown eyes, who looked like an athlete. While his brother is a great chef, he can only do the basics. His past is the same as Ben's. He is a lot guieter than his brother but by no means less caring. While his brother worked for the Bastille's as the housekeeper, he worked as a bodyguard and P.A. when he had the time.
> 
> Eris- She is the 12 year old sister to Kyle and Ben. She is a shy girl but has a kind heart. She wants to be a doctor when she grow up because she wants to save lives. She has played nurse for both of her brothers and Felix. She endeared herself to Felix and thinks of him as another brother. She has long brown hair with blue streaks and brown eyes and is an average height for a ten year old. She was sick when she was younger but made a full recovery inspiring her to be a doctor.
> 
> Wren Silven- An Asian American 25 year old women who moved to Paris for a job opportunity. She is the youngest reporter there but has proven herself quite efficiently. She is childhood friends with the actress Selena Theron. She is the one that gave Alya the opportunity as an intern and is acting as her mentor. She is a petite ravenette with gray eyes, but is more than capable of taking care of herself. She has a weakness for kids and a thirst for knowledge. If there is one thing she can't stand it's a lie.
> 
> Selena Theron- A 26 year old English-Grecian actress. She is a new star and has just moved to France for a project. She is a kind and strong women that is a feminist. She has had some bad history with men so she is reluctant to trust them. She is a modern day Amazonian with her tall stature, dark eyes, dark hair, and killer reflexes. She got into the industry through action movies so she know how to fight. She is a proud women but once you earn her trust and loyalty you will never lose it.
> 
> Thank you for the comments, kuddos, followings, bookmarks, and Favorites and for reading my story.


	9. Three Talks, Two Calls, and a Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of action in the last chapter. I just felt that there needed to be a bit of a pause.
> 
> Thank you for reading my story.
> 
> I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything that isn't this plot line or my ocs.
> 
> I will be including both sides of phone conversations
> 
> {" "}- Indicates what the other person is saying.

* * *

Sabine watched as her daughter went upstairs, no doubt to get her camera. She excuse herself from the table and went downstairs so that she could call the school and tell them about the akuma attack.

{"Hello?"} came the stern voice of Mr. Damocles.

"Headmaster. This is Sabine calling."

{"Hello Ms. Dupain-Cheng. What can I do for you?}

"I am calling to tell you that Felix Bastille, Nathanael Kurtzberg, Nino Lahiffe, and my daughter won't be returning to school. They were all caught up in the latest Akuma attack."

{"Another one?"} Groaned the headmaster. Sabine could almost see him massaging his temples.

"Afraid so. Will there be any issue with me dismissing them?" Sabine inquired. She could hear him laughing.

{"No there shouldn't be any issue. I will inform their teachers. That being said, I would suggest that you call the Lahiffes and Astrucs to tell them the news. For the case of young Felix, I would call either of the Moray brothers ( **Ben, Eris, and Kyle's last name)**. His parents are out of the country settling a few last minute details, at least according to Kyle. They will be gone for the rest of the month."}

"Why am I not surprised?" Sabine asked in a dry tone. She might be friends with the Bastilles, but that didn't mean she approved of their parenting methods. They were constantly on business trips and through his childhood Felix had spent many a night at their bakery. It was also the reason the reason Felix knew to be wary of Sabine, more so than her daughter when provoked.

Sabine was startled when Mr. Damocles started chuckling.

"What's so funny?"

{"It's just I was remembering the first paint wars of the Quad."}

Sabine smiled as the memory.

~ ~ ~ Flashback ~ ~ ~

~  ** _6_** ** _years ago_**  ~

The Quads were at odds.

No one knew how the fight had started, not their teachers, not their classmates, not their parents, and to be honest not even the Quad themselves. The group had their squabbles in the past, heck Mari and Felix sometimes quarreled multiple times a day, but they had never fought for this long. They yelling matches for 2 days and silence for the rest of the week. It was one of those fights that could end a friendship or make it stronger, a crucible of sorts.

Right now it looked like the friendship was going to end.

Through this crucible of friendship whenever a Quad met the eyes of another daggers were figuratively thrown. Not one word was exchanged between the four and it was worrying everyone around them (minus Chloe and Sabrina). It felt as if a volcano of negativity was about to erupt, but no one knew when, they just knew that when it happened to steer clear of the Feuding Foursome.

The tipping point came right before lunch on the 6th day of the fight, during art. No one really remembered who fired the first proverbial shot, all they knew was that by the end of the class period everything was covered in paint, except the easels and canvases that they were supposed to be working on.

The Headmaster called all of the parents but the only ones that would be able to take the kids were the Dupain-Cheng's since they lived right next door. After many phone calls the rest of the Quads guardians gave permission for the Quads to be dismissed to the Bakery.

The first thing that Tom and Sabine did was order the four to clean themselves up as they were still caked in paint. After they were cleaned and in fresh clothing, all of their tempers had calmed down. The Quad felt awful for how angry they had been at the others, but they didn't know how to start repairing the damage that had been done. The person who ended up making the first move would have surprised anyone out side of their group.

"I am sorry, but I can't even remember what we were fighting about. All I know is that for almost a week I have been without the company of my favorite people. I-I don't want the continue being mad. Can't we just remember that we promised each other that we would stay friends no matter what?" Nathanael pleaded with his friends.

After that the Quad rallied and by the time that Nino and Nathanael went home, the only ones still not on good terms were Felix and Marinette. They had for the most part gotten over what happened, but both were too stubborn to say I'm sorry to their first friend.

Sabine came into the room taking in the fact that the duo was sitting on opposite ends on the couch not saying a word. Felix looked up when he saw her. One look at her face and he knew what she was going to say.

"My mom can't pick me up, right?" Felix said in a resigned tone.

Sabine just shook her head.

"I am sorry dear. She just called me. Apparently her boss just asked her to help out with a project and she can't come until late tonight. Should I call your dad?"

Felix shook his head, a mask of indifference slowly being put in place.

"Don't bother. He is out of town for a business meeting." His tone emotionless.

"Should I call your Aunt?"

"No. Aunt Isabella and her family are away on vacation in New York. Apparently my Uncle has business there and wanted them to tag along. If you would like you can just drop me off at home. It won't be first time I have had the house to myself." Felix sighed

Just when Sabine was about to say something, a shout interrupted her.

"No!" Marinette exclaimed jumping out of her seat and moving over to embrace Felix. All eyes widened at this unexpected action, none more so then the boy she was hugging.

Truthfully she would have just let her mother handle the situation when she noticed something everyone else had missed. When Felix had finished speaking he had turned his head and for one moment, he had let the sadness that he felt reflect in his eyes. Marinette wasn't about to let her best friend go, fight or no fight.

"I told you when we first became friends that I wasn't about to let you be lonely anymore. It's time that I try even harder to make that possible." Marinette turned to her parents and brought out the puppy dog eyes.

"Can Felix please stay over?" Tom and Sabine shared a look and nodded.

"I will call your mom back to ask her permission, but we would love to have you over Felix." Tom said.

"Yay!" Marinette said as she threw her arms around the stunned blonde.

Felix felt tears prick his eyes and a smile tug at his lips. He was so greatful that he had a friend like Marinette.

"Munchkin how about you go and get the spare bed all set up?" Sabine asked her daughter

"Felix you and I need to have a little heart to heart." Sabine said coming to sit by the grey-green eyed child. It was the first time that Felix had been introduced to Sabine's temper, it wouldn't be the last.

~ ~ ~ Flashback End ~ ~ ~

{"Before their fight they had been very close. After though, It was nearly impossible to separate them."} Mr. Damocles said in fondness.

"True. They did everything together and since our house was the closest, It usually became habit for me to be the one to call the parents."

{"I must say that it warms my heart to see the four together again after all this time."}

"Indeed. Well I will let you go Mr. Damocles. Good-bye."

{"Good-bye. Oh and Sabine?"}

"Yes Headmaster?" Sabine asked.

{"Try not to take longer than four hours with your "discussion" with the boys."} Sabine's eyes widened at this comment.

"Wha- How..." Mr. Damocles chuckled.

{"Sabine I have known you for far too long, you are family. You are a force to be reckoned with and one of the kindest people I have the pleasure of being friends with. I've seen what you can do first hand."}

After the Roger cop incident their was a parents meeting where the Mayor was able to attend (along with press). What went down is a story for another day, but the end result is that neither Bourgeois could interfere in school matters that don't pertain to them... or provoke Sabine.

"It was my pleasure.  _Salut_ Jean."

{" _Salut_ Sabine."}

Sabine quickly called the parents and was able to get a hold of Kyle so he knew what happened. Now that the calls were settled, it was time for her talk with the boys. She passed Tom while he made his way to man the store.

"They are in the living room waiting for Marinette. Try not to be too hard on them." Tom said to his wife.

" I just want the boys to know just how much they scared all of us. Even if it was just Felix and Nino that dealt with the Akuma we didn't know that until afterwards. As far as we knew they were all in danger." Sabine said marching upstairs before her husband could reply.

She took in the faces of the boys she realized that they really wouldn't know what hit them. In the corner of her eye she spied Marinette at the top of the stairs with a video camera pointed at the unsuspecting boys. Sabine suppressed a wicked grin. If she was in her daughter place she would be doing the exact same thing. Shaking her head she went to the boys standing in front of the TV so their attention was solely on her.

"Boys before Marinette comes down we need to have a little heart to heart." She said letting out a cyanide sweet smile. Felix paled and gulped. He could, for the most part, handle the ire of Mari, her mother on the other hand was an entirely different matter.

~ ~ ~ Time skip 3 hours later~ ~ ~

At the end of her talk Sabine took in the boys reactions. Nino was shaking and was breathing shallowly. Nathanael was in worst shape rocking back and forth close to tears. Felix was by far the least shaken, having been more prepared than the others, and was instead as stiff as a statue. The Dupain-Cheng matriarch shook her head. Honestly she hadn't even gone all out. Plus she had never raised her voice all that much. If she had yelled practically the entire time ... well the boys wouldn't be in such good shape. She motioned her daughter to stop recording and join them. Marinette briefly disappeared to put away her camera but than plopped herself on the couch between Nathanael and Felix.

"Boys I am now done chastising you. I hope you realize that I do this because we love and care about you all." Sabine sat herself down on a chair.

"You all grew up in this home. One of the guest rooms has been decorated to compliment all of you for when anyone needed a place to crash and didn't want to share with Marinette. Your the reason that we have multiple air-mattresses and extra linens. I never doubted that you would stay apart." Sabine said getting lost in memories. she sighed and shook of the past and its ghosts.

"The point is that you are all apart of our family, even if you aren't our blood. Two years ago we lost you Felix and it broke my heart to see you go. A little over a year later it broke all over again when I watched Nino and Nathanael drift away from Marinette and consequently our family. We just got you back boys, I am not ready to let you go so soon, especially to your own recklessness." She said fixing her with only a mom can perfect.

"I am not saying never to go after an Akuma, I know that would be wasting my breath. What I am saying is that I want you to try and be safe. Don't provoke the akuma needlessly. Oh and mention this to your girlfriend." Sabine said pointedly looking at Nino. Marinette suppressed her giggles as Nino turned the color of Nate's hair.

"So that's where he gets it from." came the snide remark from Felix. That caused the entire group to burst into laughter, while Nino turned pink and buried his face in a pillow

"Shut up Bagheera." Nino mumbled out.

Marinette took in the sight before her. She wouldn't trade this moment for anything, not even for a chance to date, her blonde Adonis Adrien. Her boys would always come before any guy, no matter how cute. She was glad that she had a chance to remember that.

"Hey guys, do you want to maybe spend the night tomorrow? Like in the old days? If that is okay with you and Dad that is." Mari asked. Sabine smiled.

"I have no issue with it and neither will your father."

"That sounds perfect Swan." Nathanael said to the designer.

"Be cool to revive another of our traditions. Count me in Mare." Nino said giving her a thumbs up.

"I would like that Belle, but can I make a request?" Felix asked.

"Fire away Phoebus."

"Is it okay if Eris joins us?" Felix asked hesitantly. Marinette smiled. The teen before was so different from the small aloof boy that she befriended all those years ago. She made eye contact with the other two. They nodded their agreement

"That would be wonderful. I can't wait to meet her." Mari said speaking for them all.

After that the boys departed to their own home leaving Marinette to remember the conversation she had earlier.

~ ~ ~ During the scolding~ ~ ~

Marinette quietly put down the camera. This was going to take awhile. ( **If only she knew how long** )

As she plopped down on her desk chair Tikki flew out of the purse and settled on the edge of the desk right before the keyboard.

Guess it's time to answer some questions huh?" The Kwami asked her partner.

"Yep. Let's start with the big question. Was that the actual Fox miraculous?" Marinette already figured that it was but she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I have no doubt that was the real miraculous this time I could sense Sinn's presence within it." Tikki said understanding why the teen was asking such a question.

"Sinn? Is that the fox Kwami's name?" Marinette asked.

"Technically it's her nickname. Her full name is Sinnopa, which she almost never goes by." Tikki replied.

"Why is that?" Marinette asked intrigued. Tikki giggled before giving her answer.

"She feels that Sinnopa is too formal sounding. She prefers her nickname. Of course Plagg always calls her by her full name just to antagonize her." Kikki said rolling her eyes as she thought of her fellow Kwami's antics.

"Plagg, that's the name of Chat Noir's Kwami right? The one that loves cheese?" Marinette asked recalling a previous discussion she had with her companion.

"Yes. Sigh. The two of them have never really gotten along. They bicker whenever they get the chance. The funny thing is that their bearer's almost always end up fighting as much as their counterparts." Tikki said shaking her head as she remembered some of the more notable rivals.

"I guess it makes sense. Foxes are technically part of the canine family, it isn't hard to believe that they would feud with the black cat." Marinette mused. Tikki giggled.

"Back to my questions, what do you think of the reappearance of Volpina?" Marinette asked biting her lip. Tikki shook her head and sighed.

"I am not sure what to make of it. But I can say from now on we have to be on our guard even more so than before." Tikki said. The two girls spent time checking in on the boys scolding and hanging out. A little while after their discussion Mari's phone rang.

_I feel alright I'm gonna take on the world! Light up the stars_

_I've got some pages to turn. I'm singing oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

_I got a ticket to the top of the sky_

_I'm coming up I'm on the ride of my life_

_I'm singing oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

Marinette smiled. She was wondering how long it would take for Alya to call her.

"Hey Alya."

~ ~ ~ With Alya ~ ~ ~

~A few minutes before the phone call- Alya's hotel room.~

Wren chuckled at Alya's gob smacked expression. When they had gotten back they both had settled on the bed to check out the latest Ladyblog post. It had been a full five minutes and Alya still hadn't collected her thoughts. Not that Wren could really blame her. An Akuma making a second appearance and a new hero making his debut in the same go, all happening while out of town? Alya watched the video multiple times after to get it all to sink in. Wren would have a hard time processing it herself at Alya's age.

Alya finally shook off her daze two minutes later. She needed to talk to someone now! She grabbed her phone typing in Marinette's number not fully registering that Wren was still in the room.

{"Hey Alya"}

"Hey Alya? Hey Alya?! The biggest knew of the superhero scene happens and you didn't tell me?" Girl you better have a good explanation." Alya said deciding not to mince words. Wren smiled at the dramatic reaction.

{"Sorry Alya. I was the one who witnessed Volpina abduct Chloe. I wasn't sure what to do but Ladybug-"}

"Hold on you actually talked to Ladybug? Did you stutter?" Alya asked in disbelief.

{"Yes I talked to Ladybug. I told her about what I saw and she told me to stay at the school where it was safe. No I did not stutter."} Marinette answered in an agitated tone.

"Sorry but it is kind hard to believe that you don't stutter around an amazing super heroine yet you do it around Adrien." Alya teased.

{"Hey! I am not that bad anymore. Besides Ladybug is a people person and it is easy to talk to her."} Marinette argued.

"Very true. I am glad that Nino got the video footage. I am really proud of him. I am also glad that he didn't go alone. So what do you think of the new hero? " Alya asked going into what Marinette had dubbed "reporter mode".

{"What makes you think that Nino wasn't alone?"}

"It was very subtle but there was a conversation going on behind the camera. You didn't answer my question about the hero." Alya pointed out.

{"Volpin. He is not what I was expecting, especially after dealing with Volpina. But after hearing his reason for fighting, I think he will become a great hero."} Marinette said in fondness.

"Ooh do I sense a little more than just admiration?" Alya teased.

{"Ugh. Honestly Alya. I will admit that he is cute from what I saw on the video, but my heart belongs to my prince."}

"Girl, I am going to stop you before you go on a tangent on the wonders of Adrien. I know all 7 versions of this speech, including the one in English, why is it that you are fluent in English anyways?" Alya suspected that it had to do with Adrien so she could follow him all over the world.

{"Fair enough. As for why i know English, let's just say i have my reasons. So how has the reporting been going?"}

Alya grinned. Her friend always put an effort into being interested in the things she was and it really touched her.

"It's amazing. I have learned so much from Wren, although I did have a bit of an… incident earlier last week." Alya said sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

{"Let me guess, you asked a question based on a rumor again, didn't you?"} Amusement evident in Marinette's tone. Deciding to tease her protege a bit Wren stole the phone after hearing the last question.

"She did indeed do just that Miss. Marinette."

{"This is Wren Silven correct? You can just call me Marinette or Mari."}

"Only if you call me Wren." It didn't matter if she had never met this girl. Somehow she felt a kindred spirit with the teen on the phone. She swiftly dodged Alya's attempt to swipe the phone. She then put Marinett on speaker phone.

"I wanted to give Alya an example of a celebraty interview so that she could get some more experience. Luckily a friend of mine, Serena Theron, agreed to do an interview with me."

{"Hold on you are friends with  _Serena Theron_?!"} Mari exclaimed.

"Yes I am to many people's surprise. When you and I meet I will tell you about how we met one another."

{"I will hold you to that. Continue."}

"Well after I finished my questions, I decided to let Alya ask a few of her own."

{"I am sensing that this ended badly."}

"Sort of Alya started out fine, but than she asked a question based on a previous interview."

{"Oh no. Please tell me it wasn't based on Serena's director's interview."} Marinette begged already sure that her plea wouldn't be answered.

"Oh yes. Serena was so upset that if we had been at her house I am pretty sure she would have grabbed her bow and arrow and start shooting at her target range. You don't seem surprised that she did this, why is that?"

{"Alya is my female best friend and is intelligent and has the instincts of a reporter. But as soon as Ladybug, or in this case rumors, are mentioned her logic goes out the window. I mean when Lila claimed to be friends with Ladybug I told her that it wasn't possible. I mean, there hadn't evem been an Akuma attack in a week before she came, how could she have met Ladybug, let alone become her friend? I know that the mention of ones idol's can blind a person though, so it didn't bother to much, I have done it myself and I am not even the reporter."}

Alya winced at the reminder. When her friend pointed it out to her before she had ignored her. But then Wren had pointed out the same thing and it started to sink in that she had been tricked.

"Okay, you made your point. Wren actually pointed out the same thing, sorry for ignoring you on that subject." Alya called out

{Huh I now like you even more Wren if you can get through to Alya were I can't."} Marinette teased.

"Ha-ha real mature Mare." Alya rolled her eyes.

{"As much as I would love to keep talking to you, I have a project to finish. Just to let you know, besides the conversation with Ladybug I don't know anything else about the Akuma incident. It was nice talking to you Wren. I will see you when you get back Alya. Good night."}

"Understood. I will call you tomorrow. Night Marinette." Alya said hanging up the phone.

"She seem like a great friend. Hold on her." Wren said smiling.

"Believe me I plan to." Alya said yawning. She didn't realize just how late it had gotten. She grabbed her night ware and went to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

Wren shook her head smiling.

"I wonder if Alya realized that Marinette said she was her female best friend?" While she didn't think that Alya caught it, Wren was a much more seasoned reporter.

~ ~ ~ With Adrien ~ ~ ~

Adrien flopped on to hotel bed letting out a long sigh. It had been a long day.

The shoot had run long because of a wardrobe malfunction, so Natalie left (taking his phone with her) to check out and get their luggage. When Natalie finally got back she ushered him into the car and Gorilla drove them to the next town for the next shoot, telling him that he would get his phone when they got to their next hotel. Then there had been an accident further up the road so the traffic was at a stand still. When they finally got the hotel it had begun down poring so they all were soaked. Last but not least when Natalie finally gave him his phone he nearly pulled his hair out when he saw that his battery had died, due to the fact that he forgot to close his apps. By the time he finally got to his room it was 9:00 ( **21:00 for those who use the 24 hour clock)**.

"Kid I have to say, your luck is nearly as bad as mine, and  _that_  is saying something." Plagg said as he floated out of the bag and onto the bed.

"Thanks Plagg I hadn't noticed." Adrien said sarcastically.

"Happy to help." Plagg said not picking up on the sarcasm or at least choosing to ignore it.

_Knock, knock_. Adrien got up and answered the door once he saw that it was Natalie.

"Hey Natalie, what is it?" he said tiredly. Natalie couldn't help but feel for her charge. His father demanded so much from him, yet Adrien almost never complained. She also felt a bit guilty for taking away his source of entertainment but only a bit. If the director had caught him the shoot would have been delayed even longer.

"I came to inform you that since the shoot ran long that the reservations we had were canceled so, this  _once_ , you are allowed to have room service." She said deciding to give him some freedom.

"Really? Thanks Natalie. By the way what time should I be up for tomorrow?" Adrien said much happier than he had been before opening the door.

"The shoot won't start until 12, but we need to be there at least an hour early so plan to be up by 8. Good night Adrien. Oh and by the way don't order to much Camembert. It stinks" Natalie said.

"Night Natalie." Adrien said as he closed the door blushing up a storm.

"Alright where that menu at. A hotel this swanky must have Camembert." Plagg called from the table.

"We can order it, but remember we have patrol tonight so save it until after we get back." The Kwami threw a look at his partner.

"Were going on patrol... even though we aren't in the city?" Plagg said slowly. Adrien rolled his eyes at the black cat.

"We are 30 minutes away from Paris, plus if I don't get some answers about what went down today, I  _know_  I will go nuts." The model said to the lazy Kwami.

"You mean more than usual." Plagg sassed. Adrien resisted the urge to strangle the pesky cat.

"Ha-Ha, come on Plagg. I know that you are just as worried about Tikki as I am about Ladybug."

A few weeks back Adrien asked Plagg if he knew Ladybug's Kwami and had been consequently subjugated to a rant of the wonder that is Tikki. The only other time that Adrien had ever seen Plagg so animated was when he was talking about cheese. Seeing that Plagg was wavering he decided to sweeten the deal.

"I will get you three orders of Cambert, one for before we leave and one before we go back and one for a lob well done."

"Deal! What are you standing around for? Start ordering kid." Plagg demanded. Adrien smile amused at his friends antics

"Right away."

"So where are we meeting up again?" Plagg asked not really caring.

"Location number three."

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

"So we are meeting on the top of Arc de Triomphe?" Nathanael asked Ladybug. She nodded her head.

"That's correct. Chat and I have usually four places where we meet up. This is the third location. We will be meeting there in 20. That okay with you Volpin?"

"Yeah don't sweat it Cap, I will be there." Nate assured his new partner.

"Cap?" She asked intrigued.

"That's your nickname." Nathanael said flashing her a smile.

"I like it but can I ask why?" She said smiling. He smirked in retaliation.

"I will tell you when we are on patrol." He said.

"Fair enough. See you then Alec." With those final words Nathaniel closed the screen and ended the call. He started to leap from roof top to roof top, using his limited levitation to correct his balance as he did so. The fox hero began to slow down as the monument came in sight. He still had a few minutes until patrol started. Checking to make sure that no one was watching Nathaniel raised his hood and began to make his way to the top.

"This is something I am going to have to get used to." the artist muttered to himself. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt solid ground again. Now that he was up here he lowered his hood and took in the view. He was blown away.

It was astounding how different the city looked from up here, finally he understood why the heroes were constantly up high. The sight was addicting.

_Thump._  Nathanael heard the sound of feet hitting the roof. Not taking his eyes of the sight and wishing that he brought his sketchbook Nathanael called out.

"Hey Cap. Just taking in the sight. So what are we doing first?"

Nate eyes widened as he felt his legs being swept underneath him. Taken aback Nathaniel was knocked on his stomach and into the concrete of the roof What the heck was going on? Before Nate could freak out any further something was pressed against the side of his neck.

"Turn around." A voice growled out. Nathaniel tensed and slowly turned around. He took in the sight of the male hero of Paris glaring at him with his baton raised to his neck.

"My name is Chat not Cap and I want to know who you are and why you are intruding on my  _Paw_ -trol spot." He spoke lowering his baton.

Nathanael was too caught of guard to speak up. However as Chat began to ready his baton for an attack three thoughts flashed through his mind:

1) Chat didn't know who he was so he most likely hasn't seen the fight with Volpina.

2) Ladybug wouldn't be here for at least another 10 minutes.

3) DUCK!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I am evil for using another cliff hanger but it was too hard to pass up.
> 
> There isn't a lot of information of Mr. Damocles so I wanted to give him a bit more of a role.
> 
> Moms are scary, especially when they are concerned. I know that from personal experience.
> 
> Alya's ringtone was "Take on the world" from the show Girl Meets World. It is a fun song and I feel that it fits Alya in the fact that she is always ready to tackle the next big issue that the world throws at her and she wants to make her mark on the world.
> 
> Salut- is the french informal way of saying hi/good bye.
> 
> Thank you for the comments, kuddos, followings, bookmarks, and Favorites and for reading my story.


	10. A Misguided Cat and a Rivalry Reborn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my readers!
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, though I wish I did just like any fan of this show.
> 
> Now on to the Battle!

* * *

 

"Woah!" Volpin exclaims while he ducks, feeling the wind of Chat's baton narrowly missing his new ears. That was way to close to for comfort.

Chat narrowed his eyes and leaped away, keeping his baton close.

"Start talking! Who are you?" He growled out. Inwardly Chat's mind was whirling. He took in the teen in front of him. This new villain was dressed like a male Volpina - minus a few details. Since he didn't know too much about Hawk Moths latest victim for now he would keep him talking and distracted from whatever damage he wanted to inflict on his and his lady's city.

"My name is Volpin, and I am the holder if the fox miraculous." Volpin said slowly eyeing his fellow hero.

Chat kept his cool, but was incredibly confused. Was Hawk Moth getting lazy? Why the hell would he trust this Volpin character when it was already clear that Volpina was a fake. Did he think that changing the gender would make him and his lady more trusting. Well too bad, he fooled him once, he wouldn't fool him again.

"Really? So how is it that you came upon your Miraculous?" Chat asked feigning interest. He discreetly looked over the hero scanning for the corrupted item. He hoped that his Lady would get here soon to help deal with their latest opponent.

Volpin scratched his head, relaxing a bit. He really didn't want to admit that it just appeared one day in his bedroom and a glowing light shined from a box and he fainted when his Kwami emerged. It sounded pathetic and unbelievable. He decided to avoid the question, and hope that Chat wouldn't press for answers. Volpin just hoped that when ladybug confirmed he was telling the truth that Chat would let it go

"Well- I am not really sure. The miraculous kinda just came into my life and with it came new powers." Volpin said settling for a half truth.

Alarm bells rang in Chats head. That was way to suspicious. Soon Volpin would give up the charade of being a hero and expose himself as the Akuma he obviously was.

"So what are your powers?" Chat asked. Usually the powers of Akuma's revealed a lot about how they got akumatized or even their identities at times.

"That's easy. Do you remember Volpina?" Volpin asked with a grin. Chat was fighting back a only ones that knew the powers of that particular villian were him, his Lady, and Hawk Moth. He decided to play along for just a little longer.

"Of course. She had the ability to use her flute staff to create illusions." Chat nodded.

"Well my powers are near identical to hers, the major difference is that instead of a staff, I have escrama sticks that combine into a flute, the only way to break them apart is if I will it." Volpin said bringing out his weapon to demonstrate showing off a staff identical to Volpina's.

"Huh. Interesting." Chat said. He still couldn't figure out who the kid was or what was the corrupted object.  _Cat_  he wish he had his bugaboo was here to help him out.

"Thanks." Volpin said scratching the back of his head.

"So what are you doing here?" Chat asked. He very much doubted that the Hawk Moth knew where they patrolled, so this monument had to have some significance to the Akuma, there was no way that he knew where they patrolled.

"Ain't that obvious? I am waiting for Ladybug to show up." Volpin said chuckling. He looked out at the sky, missing the way that Chat tensed and began gripping his baton tighter.

"Why is it that you want to see my Lady? Chat asked trying to keep his anger under control.

Volpin turned his head, brow furrowing.

"I thought that would be obvious." Volpin stated.

Chat looked at his opponent and let out a dark chuckle. He was done toying. This guy just threatened his lady. The time of chatting was over.

Chat sprung forward, aiming for Volpin's head. Volpin brought his pole in front of him bending to avoid getting struck. He pushed against Chat and mad him back off.

"What the Hell Ally Cat?!" Volpin exclaimed bewildered at the sudden change in the Hero of Paris.

"I will  **not**  let some filthy Akuma hurt my Lady." Chat hissed. Volpin's eyes widened before narrowing. This entire time Chat hadn't believed him. He thought that he wanted to get to know him when he was trying to take him down. Volpin was hurt being called and Akuma wasn't something he couldn't shake off as easily.

He still wasn't completely sure what happened to him while he was Evilustrator but he knew that he had hurt one the people he cared for the most. Volpin was a fresh start and wasn't tainted with his sins. A red haze descended on the Fox hero. Chat wouldn't get away with that insult.

"I am  _not_  an AKUMA!" Volpin growled out. He went on the offense and struck towards Chat's side. Not expecting this Chat didn't have time to block the strike allowing it to make contact. Chat winced, if they didn't have advanced healing he knew that Volpin's strike would have left a prominent bruise. Looks like he had been underestimating just how tough this opponent was. Chat leaped away and put some distance between him and Volpin.

"So you don't just hide behind illusions like your  _pur_ decessor, good to know." Chat acknowledged.

"Why should I hide when I don't have to?" Volpin spat switched the way that he was handling his staff and gripped it like a sword as he had seen Chat do numerous times when he was duking it out with his opponents. Chat eyes narrowed and he leapt to match his opponents blow.

As the fox and cat started their ancient rivalry once more they took no notice to anyone, but their opponent. However, that didn't mean that others didn't notice them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was initially going to be a longer chapter but to fix the flow I shortened it.
> 
> Thank you for reading my story, bookmarking, following, favoriting, and commenting.


	11. Rules, Bell Towers and Past Heroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Nor the quotes I used. I just own my ocs.

* * *

 

~~ Marinette's Room before the fight.~~

Marinette ended the call to Volpin. As she made her way to the sky light she heard the thumping from the trap door.

"Marinette? Can you come down for a second? We need to talk." Her dad's muffled voice called.

"Shoot." She muttered under her breath.

"Coming Papa." She called louder.

"Tikki spot's off." She said losing the polka dotted outfit.

"Volpin is waiting Marinette." Tikki pointed out worriedly.

"I know, but if I don't talk to my parents, they will get suspicious. And if they get suspicious they will enter my room and see that I am not here. If they see that they see that I am not here they may think that I am in trouble. And then they will leave to search for me. Only they should be searching for Ladybug and when they can't find me they will call the police, and when they see that I am back and unharmed they will coddle me. That isn't so bad but once the worry subsides they will start questioning where I have been and I can't tell then because that would mean revealing to them that I am Ladybug. Then they will get angry and ground me for life for sneaking out and not telling them why. And that means no friends, no phone, and I will be under constant supervision. Than I can't transform and save Paris when the next Akuma attack comes." Marinette said in a rush, pacing as she did so. She could practically see the situation play out before her eyes.

Tikki just looked at her charge in amusement and a bit of worry. She always seemed to jump to the most extreme scenario she could and proceed to rant about it.

"Marinette that wouldn't happen. Just be quick about it. I will refuel so we can take off as soon as you are done." Tikki said giggling.

"Thanks Tikki." Marinette said opening the door to go down stairs. She quickly found out her parents in the living room in on the couch.

"You wanted to talk to me? Am I in trouble?" Marinette asked suddenly scared that she had done something wrong, but for the life of her couldn't think what it was.

"No of course not." Tom said laughing at his daughters tendency to over react.

"We just wanted to talk about tomorrow night." Sabine explained gently.

"Oh. I am still allowed, right?" Marinette asked tense.

"Of course." Tom said with a smile.

"Than what is it?" Marinette asked smilling, secure in the knowledge that her even was still on.

"We just want to go over a few ground rules." Sabine said with a tentative smile.

Marinette froze, her smile falling, as she resisted the urge to groan. 'Here we go.' She thought bracing for the same conversation she had heard what felt like a thousand times.

"Clean your room before hand" Sabine started.

"Be careful and try not to destroy anything." Tom chimed in.

"Clean your room."

"Don't be too loud."

"Food after 1 am is not allowed."

"Go shopping for the food that you want."

"Try to keep it down."

"Straighten up your room first."

"Go easy on the junk food."

"Finish your homework before you watch any movies."

"Don't stay up all night, you have school in the morning."

"No snacks after 1."

"Make sure your quarters are ship shape."

"Homework first."

On and On this went. The two of them alternating going over rules that she knew by heart. Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose. This happened every time they the boys stayed the night, minus Saturday film days. They had given up after the four of them recited all of the rules, alternating and in unison (they had practiced for three weeks straight).

"Oh and try to remember that your father and I need to wake up early." Sabine said sighed in relief glad that it was over.

"I understand. Night Mama, night Papa." Marinette said kissing them before bolting upstairs. As always, the talk took longer than expected. As she entered the room she saw that Tikki was sitting in front of her computer, cookie finished, waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" Tikki asked innocently. This time Marinette didn't resit the urge to groan.

"What happened?" Tikki said worried.

"My parents wanted to go over the ground rules for tomorrow. The same rules that I had memorized years ago." Marinette said in an agitated tone, running her fingers through her hair, like her favorite grey-green eyed friend.

"I am sorry." Tikki said gently. Marinette simply waved it up her off.

"Not your fault. Now let's get going. Tikki Spot's On!" Marinette shouted soon decked out in red and black. She hopped out onto her roof and jumped to the next one. She just hoped that Volpin didn't get into any trouble.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief as the Arc de Triomphe appeared on the skyline at last. It took longer than she wanted but she was ready to start her first patrol with her new team mate.

Suddenly a scream pierced the air. She turned and saw a crowd of civilians running as if their lives depended on it. What stood out the most was the fact that they were running away from the Arc. She also noticed a select few civilians, mostly teenagers, were going towards the Arc with their cameras out.

She stopped to listen, hoping to gather more information. She wasn't disappointed.

"Run for your lives!"

"Help!"

"At the top of the Arc!"

"Chat is Fighting an Akuma!"

"Get away as fast as you can!"

"Why didn't I stay home?"

The baker's daughter was honestly confused. She had gathered that Something had gone down at the Arc, but why did they mention The Cat Clad Flirt? He wasn't even here earlier to deal with Volpina. And a second Akuma Attack? While it wasn't unheard of, It wasn't something that Hawkmoth did a lot, so she skeptical about that claim, but it did explain why some people were headed there with cameras.

She tried to think of why there would be an attack at the arc but the only thing she could think of was the fact that it was their...patrol..spot. Marinette wanted to hit herself for not thinking of it sooner. Their wasn't a second incident, the person that Chat was fighting had to be Volpin. She doubled her pace, She had a few fighters to fillet.

~ ~ ~ On top of the Arc ~ ~ ~

The boys were panting on opposite sides of the roof.

"Ready to admit your  _fox_ pas when you called yours self a hero?" Chat jeered at his red haired opponent.

"It wasn't a mistake and for the love of  _everything_  just, Stop with the puns!" Volpin growled out lunging at Chat once more.

As their weapons once again met they were suddenly jerked out of their hands...by a yo-yo.

Both boys turned smiling at their partner. Their faced became void of any joy when they saw the bug heroes face. She was livid.

'Oh hell' was all they could think. They scrambled to find a way to not have her ire directed at them, the only thing she did was hold up her hand, silencing them both.

"Don't speak, just follow me down to ground level. When I say 'good night' I want you to create a smoke screen and scatter. I will call you from a secure location to meet up."She ordered. Volpin was resigned, while Chat was floored. Why was Ladybug treating the Akuma slime with respect and asking for his help?

Oh and boys. You start fighting again, well you won't like the results." Ladybug said with a smile that oozed killing intent. Volpin couldn't help but think that the quote "Beware the nice ones" was fitting for Cap.

The boys complied, so lost in thought and terror they didn't even notice what was going on around them. Ladybug couldn't have been more thankful for that fact. Once they touched down they were swarmed by the crowd that had gathered to watch the heroes fight.

"People of Paris, we apologize for scaring you and making you think that there was another attack. What you saw was merely a spar between Chat Noir and the newest hero, Volpin. Chat merely wanted to test the strength of our teammate. They got a little caught up in their match that they neglected to realize that they were in a very public place and that they were garnering so much attention. Rest assured that we will try our hardest to make sure that it won't happen again. Now I am afraid that we need to say  **good night**." Snapping out his stupor Volpin brought his flute staff to his lips and created a smoke screen, covering the heroes exit. The citizens were left in a frenzy about what just happened. One thing for sure was that what happened wouldn't soon be forgotten.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

Ladybug moved fast. She decided to head to Notre Dame as is was only a few minutes away from Arc de Triomphe. She quickly made it to the bell tower and scattered the pigeon that were roasting there. The last thing she needed was a sneezing Kitty.

She quickly dialed Volpins, and then Chat's number and told them both where she was hanging up before they could talk.

Chat arrived first. Deciding to chance it he went for his customary greeting.

"Hello my Lady." He said going to kiss her hand. Ladybug was having none of that.

"Cut the flirting Chat Noir. I am in no mood." Ladybug said through clenched teeth.

"Listen Ladybug I-" Chat began, once again being cut off by Ladybug.

"You want to say something, say it when Volpin gets here." Ladybug said.

"Why are you trusting that Akuma?!" Chat blurted out.

Ladybug stared at her partner.

"Are you KIDDING ME!" Ladybug screamed. Chat backed up now very nervous.

"When Volpina made her debut I told you not to trust her, but you told me that I was overreacting." Ladybug said pacing.

"You were right which is why i didn't trust Volpin." Ladybug stopped and glared at her partner shutting him up. He really needed to shut his big mouth.

"Chat I am going to ask you a question. Did you look at the news today, or check the Ladyblog?" Ladybug asked deciding to see if her hunch had any base. Chat was thrown at the sudden change in subject.

"I know that there were some alerts, but I was at an event in my civilian side and couldn't get away to check." Chat admitted. Ladybug rubbed her face before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Chat, I am going to say this once. ALWAYS CHECK THE NEWS! ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE LEFT THE CITY!" Ladybug yelled to show her frustration. Chat pulled even further back. What would have caused his lady to get so mad at him?

"I am not sure I-"

"There was an Akuma accident today while you were gone." Ladybug said cutting her partner off.

"Volpin, I know." Chat said cautiously. Ladybug glared at him once more before taking a deep breath, shaking her head and letting it out with a sigh. Chat was now really confused.

"Close. It was Volpina." Ladybug said. Needless to say Chat was floored.

"WHAT? But there's-"

"Never been an incident where the same person is akumatized two separate times. I am well aware of this Chat Noir." Ladybug said in a agitated voice.

"But Volpin..." Chat trailed off now confused and uncertain at the new information presented to him.

"Tell me Chat, while some of our past foes have had similar powers, like mind control, have any of our past foes had the same abilities?" Ladybug said trying to keep her anger at bay.

"Well no but-" Chat began.

"So why would Hawk Moth suddenly change his strategies now?" Ladybug stated with a hard look waiting for the truth to hit the black cat.

"He wouldn't. But that would mean that..." Chat stated slowly feeling a sense of dread and horror. Ladybug sported a smirk as she saw the change in expression in Chat.

"Yep. Volpin is the actual bearer of the Fox Miraculous." Ladybug stated watching Chat have a mini freak out. It felt good to troll someone other than her boys.

"Wait so Volpin was at the Arc-"

"To meet up for patrol with me." Ladybug finished.

"Just like I said, I was telling the truth earlier, Ally Cat." Volpin's voice called out startling Chat. When he turned to where Volpin's voice originated from he was bewildered to see nothing there.

"Alec." Ladybug warned. Volpin's laugh was heard before he appeared leaning up against the tower lowering his hood. Seeing Chat's bafflement volpin couldn't help but tease.

"Looks like the Cat lost his tongue to the Fox." Volpin said. Chat looked between Ladybug and Volpin wondering what the hell was going on.

"Volpin has the ability to temporarily turn invisible when he raises his hood." Ladybug elaborated when Volpin made no motion to do so himself.

"How long have you been here?" she inquired.

"I arrived about when Chat accused me of being an Akuma. I figured that it was better for you to explain. I am glad I did. It was quiet the show" Volpin said shrugging his shoulder, and smirking. Ladybug blushed remembering just how she acted. Chat's eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth. He opened up his mouth but was cut off when Volpin raised a clawed glove, similar to Chat's own.

"Miraculous 101: We get our powers from something called miraculous jewelry, but that is something that a person can gather just by watching the Akuma fights. What isn't well known is the fact that the that when the jewelry pieces are powered down they change colors to help disguise them a bit more. The reason that the miraculous can transform us is because they fuse with a Kwami. The Kwamis are over 5000 years old at least. Kwamis are tied to their object, meaning that beside the initial reveal, they are visible so long as their partner is wearing it. They require food to power up that and rest. Chat's is named Plagg and uses Camembert to gain energy and Ladybug's is named Tikki and love cookies. I know this because of my Kwami Sinnopa or Sinn as she prefers to be called told me." Volpin stated in a drawling tone that was trademarked by one of his best friends. He turned waiting for Chat to comment.

"Why are you telling us this?" Chat said realizing that unless he played along Volpin wouldn't say anymore. He was also a bit thrown by how much the  _faux_  hero sounded like his cousin.

"I am tell this to  _you_ Chat to prove to you once and for all that I am legit." Volpin stated throwing a glare at the green eyed teen, and he didn't mean eye color.

Chat opened his mouth but could summon no protest. He should have asked about the Kwami's earlier in his interrogation. That would have saved them a lot of trouble. Hindsight is truly 20/20.

"Are you to done?" Ladybug asked, both teens nodded, one more reluctantly than the other.

Good now then, HOW COULD YOU BE SO RECKLESS?!" Ladybug shouted pulling a 180 half way through her sentence, glaring at her male heroes. They opened their mouths to defend themselves but she narrowed her eyes further shutting them up.

"I am not done. Do you two have any idea what you've done? Your little spar was on the news!" She said throwing her hands up in the air.

"It was?" Volpin asked. Ladybug rounded on him intensifying her glare. He shrunk back and seeing that he was going to stay quiet she forged on.

"Yes. Yes it was. Why  _else_  would a crowd have started forming around us when we landed?" She asked retorically her voice dripping with venom.

Both males had the decency to look abash. To be honest Volpin had gotten so caught up in their fight that he didn't even think about whether or not they would draw attention. And when they had fallen He hadn't really given much thought on why the crowd had formed. He were too busy thanking their lucky stars that Ladybug caught them in time.

Chat had a full on Cheshire grin. He loved watch his lady work. She turned towards him with a dark look. On second thought...

"Wipe that grin off your face you are not out of the woods yet Chat Noir." The black clad hero winced and tried to explain.

"My lady he..."

"Zip it. Because of your actions tonight we can't use the Arc de Triomphe for patrol. At least not in the near future."

"Sorry my lady." Chat said trying to get back in her good graces.

"Don't say it to me say it to Volpin. You judged him too fast Chat." Ladybug stated.

"Why are you defending him?" Chat said feeling frustrated about how much had changed in the short time that he had been gone from his city. Sure Volpin was on their side and was a weilder as well but that didn't warrant the level of protection that Ladybug was showing to this iner _fox_ er.

Volpin bristled ready to defend himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Ladybug and she shook her head. She moved passed him and decided to explain her actions to her first partner.

"This afternoon was the first time that I met Volpin. I was already alerted that Volpina was back so when I first met him I was as suspicious as you were, hell I might have been even more distrustful. He claimed to be a miraculous wielder and to prove that he wasn't an illusion I punched him in gut." Ladybug told Chat.

"That hurt you know." Volpin interjected. Ladybug shot him a look, though and he raised his hand in mock surrender.

"But he showed me, in the short time that we interacted that he deserves my trust and respect. Just like he deserves the chance to defend this city." Ladybug continued.

"How con you go from punching him out of distrust to trusting him to watch over our city?" Chat said more curious than before.

"To put it simply he did exactly what you would have done if it was you helping me defeat Volpina. He saved my life." Chat shut up after that. Seeing this Ladybug elaborated.

"Volpina had managed to separate me from my yo-yo and then knocked me off my feet. Just before she preformed a finishing strike, Volpin intervened, allowing me to retrieve my yo-yo. He defended me when Volpina began to insult me and I know that without his help I wouldn't have been able to take down Volpina." Chat thought for a moment before turning to Volpin.

"Thank you for defending my Lady when I couldn't. I am sorry I misjudged you." Chat said at last. It wasn't easy but at least he was sincere. He decided that he would watch the video of the fight when he got back.

"Don't mention it, Ally Cat." Volpin said.

"Speaking of not being there..."Ladybug said before slapping the back of Chat's head.

"OW."

"Next time you leave the city tell me! I was worried about you Kitty." Ladybug admitted before giving her partner a quick hug.

"Will do bugaboo." Chat said milking this moment with everything he had.

"Don't call me bugaboo." Ladybug said ending the embrace.

Turning towards her other partner she held up her thumb and index finger.

"Two questions. First why didnt you use your invisibility powers earlier to leave and call me for back up?" Ladybug asked holding up her thumb. Volpin opened his mouth than closed it, he then looked away rubbing his neck.

"You forgot that you could do that didn't you." Ladybug stated with an eye roll.

"Hey I am still getting used to this Hero thing, give me a while and then we can talk." Volpin joked.

"Two, will you please explain the nicknames?" Ladybug asked with a smile. Volpin laughed and shook his head.

"You are Cap which is short for Captain as you have a way of taking charge. Chat on the other hand is Ally Cat as he has the manners of one." volpin quipped. Chat wanted to argue, but thinking back on his actions this night decided to keep his comments to himself.

"Normally I wouldn't suggest this but I say we keep patrol short tonight. Hawk Moth shouldn't make a move tonight as he already used Volpina, but better be safe then sorry." With those words the red and black hero of Paris leapt out of the Bell tower and into the night, leaving the boys by themselves. The silence deafening and tension now double what it had been since Volpin first emerged.

"I am not interested in her." Volpin said suddenly.

"What?" Chat said thrown by his declaration.

"Ladybug, I know you have feelings for her, heck most of Paris know. I just wanted to inform you that I dont't have feelings for her." Volpin elaborated. Seeing Chats disbelieving stared he sighed and ran his glove through his hair.

Ladybug is an amazing person, anyone can see that, but..." Volpin's smile turned wistful.

"I have my heart set on someone else. Someone who has held my heart for a while, even if she doesn't realize it." Volpin said thinking of the gorgeous designer he calls his best friend.

"Then what with the nicknames?" Chat asked almost pouting.

"They are a sign of friendship, nothing more. She calls me Alec since I can be a smart ass, but smart alec is a kinder word." Volpin rolled his eyes at Chats childishness.

"You boys coming or not?" Ladybugs voice drifted up to the two teens.

"Look Chat right now we have both had a long night and to be honest I would rather avoid another lecture form Ladybug. You don't have to be my friend, but you should trust that I will have your back. Now lets not keep her waiting." Volpin said before he leapt out the window. Chat raced over and saw him drifting over to his lady.

"I don't care if he is on my side, I don't like him." Chat muttered. He extended his baton outwards an slid down to his lady and his new headache. Tonight had gone nothing like he expected.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

Never had Marinette been so glad to end patrol early. All through their rooftop run, she felt a tension so thick that it felt like she was trapped in Pharaoh's slow motion bubble again. As the transformation dropped Marinette flopped onto her bed and let out a frustrated groan into her pillow. She had no doubt that tonight was just the first of many fights between the cat and the fox.

Tikki flew over to her charge and settled on by her pillow, her blue eyes full of sympathy. Marinette turned to Tikki.

"Tikki if Sinn and Plagg fight like Volpin and Chat did tonight than you have my respect for having the patience to deal with it,  _and_  my sympathies for having to put up with it." Marinette joked. Tikki chuckled before shaking her head.

"You aren't the first Ladybug to tell me that, and you won't be the last. While my friends don't usually have a battle royal like yours did, they do bicker just as much."

"Ugh. Looks like I am going to have to get used to hearing them bicker and name call. Now I know how Genie and Robin Hood feel when Felix and I get into it." Marinette muttered. Tikki laughed. She was glad that Marinette was her partner.

"While it is true that most of the Volpins and Chat Noirs end up bickering, some actually getting along better than than the Ladybugs and Chat Noirs."

"Really?" Marinette perked up at the mention of Tikkis past. While she didn't hide it, Tikki didn't go out of her way to talk about her history. Marinette respected Tikki's privacy, but that didn't mean that she wasn't ecstatic to learn more about her partner.

"Oh yes. There was one pair that had been chosen. They had never met prior to being chosen, but as soon as they met, you would have thought they were long lost twins! They were so in sync that occasionally they would start talking in unison or in turn to throw their opponents off." Tikki said giggling. Marinette tried to picture Chat and Volpin doing what Tikki said and almost snorted at how ridiculous it seemed.

"That must have been an interesting experience. How did Sinn and Plagg react to that?"

"While they were baffled by their charges reaction, they learned to accept it, albeit grudgingly. The way they saw it better than then what happened that what happened once in Pursia." Tikki said with a smile that spoke mischief.

"Oh don't leave me hanging. What happened in Pursia?" Marinette asked wanting to know what could cause the normally sweat Kwami to sport such a devious smile.

"Sinn's user was a girl and ended up married to that generations Chat Noir." Tikki said with a smile.

"Oh that must have drove the Kwami's bonkers." Marinette chuckled.

"It did, they constantly were on their charges. But their charges got back at them by making sure that any chance they got they would make out transformation or not. Plagg and Sinn learned to keep their mouths shut."

"How is that the two even got together?" Marinette asked. Tikki's eyes gained a mischievous twinkle.

"Through a series of unconnected events where they ended up learning more about one another and eventually fell in love." Tikki said in an innocent tone.

"Why do I get the feeling that those unconnected events weren't so unconnected and had everything to do with you?" Mari asked her cookie loving friend.

"Me? I did no such thing. My partner on the other hand..." Tikki trailed of with a wicked grin.

"Tikki, you are an absolute star." Marinette said shaking her head at the Kwami's past antics. It made her think of a line that she had once read by John Dryden "Beware the fury of patient man" or in this case Kwami.

"So are you. Now you should get to bed before the actually stars beat you to it." Tikki said.

"Fair enough. Good night Tikki." Marinette said getting under the comforter.

"Night Marinette." Tikki said flying into her own bed that was hidden behind Marinette's dust ruffle. She was glad that she was able to reduce her charges stress. From what she could tell the feud of the Cat and the Fox was going to be extremely challenging to deal with this time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact I was looking up some facts about the Arc de Triomphe and learned that it is 15 minutes away from the famous Church, what I said earlier in the chapter was true.
> 
> For those who don't understand why I had Marinette hold up her index in thumb to signify the number two let me elaborate. In France they start counting on their thumb , not their index finger. They do this in a few other countries but I am unsure just which one.
> 
> Thank you for the comments, kuddos, bookmarks, follows, and favorites, and of course just reading my story.


	12. Cat talks and Meeting the Morays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you people have some good puns for Chat please leave a review and I will see if I can weave them into the story.
> 
> I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else mentioned. just my ocs and plot line.

* * *

 

~~After Patrol, Adrien's Room~~

Adrien had never been so irritated in his life. His life had been going good, he had more friends than ever before, was going to regular school, had a  _best_  friend who was awesome, and was a real life superhero! And with that superhero life came his Venus, his muse, the holder of his heart, his partner, Ladybug.

One of his mother's favorite quotes by an unknown author said "meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control". He had loved that quote just because it made his mother smile, but after watching Ladybug address Hawkmoth, he loved it because it was the truth. The past few months were by far the happiest he had been since his mom's disappearance. What he should have realized was that it was too good to last.

Now he had to deal with an infuriating fox who he not only had to share the superhero life with but his lady as well. Patrol was one his favorite part of the superhero lifestyle. On the nights that it was quiet it meant that he had uninterrupted one on one time with his  _purrr_ fect partner. He would most likely never have that again.

This was the worst day since he started school. At least Plagg had promised to talk when they got to the hotel. What had surprised him was the fact that Plagg was willing to talk without being bribed. The Kwami hadn't been willing to talk about it on the rooftops, saying that there was too much of a chance of being overheard. Plus there was cheese waiting for them back in the room.

The black cat of Paris sighed as he approached his hotel via rooftop. With a quick look around Adrien dropped onto his balcony and drew the curtains before he transformed back into his civilian form. He made his way to the mini fridge to get the cheese he promised Plagg earlier. He knew from experience that Plagg wouldn't talk until he was fed. As soon as he opened the door the Kwami practically teleported, devouring the wedge before Adrien could even blink.

"BURP! Man this hotel doesn't skimp on luxury. This is fine quality camembert." Plagg said as he floated to the bed patting his rounded stomach.

"Alright kid ask away." Plagg said knowing that he couldn't ignore the kid's curiosity, it would just mean a headache.

"So its true? That Volpin is a miraculous holder?" Adrien couldn't help but ask. He just wanted a second opinion especially after the Lila incident.

"Yeah kid it unfortunately is." Plagg said understanding where his charge was coming from. Adrien moved over the the bed.

"Unfortunately? What do you mean by that?" Adrien asked puzzled. Plagg puffed himself up in such a way that Adrien knew that Plagg was about to go an a tangent.

"Sinnopa is one of the biggest pains that I have had to deal with in my life. She has no regard for my nap schedule and will constantly pounce on me. When I go to chase her I usually can't because she is too fast!" Plagg paused for a breath.

"She also has the worst habit of mimicking me to get on my nerves. She looooves to prank anyone she can get her hands on and because she is so stinkin' quiet she gets away with it! And there is the fact that she is way to close too Tikki and does everything in her power to make me look bad!" Plagg said getting more agitated as he went on.

"So I take it you two don't get along?" Adrien said amused that his Kwami could get so worked up over something that wasn't cheese or Tikki.

"That is the understatement of the eon. She and I have been bickering since the beginning. Unfortunately for you, usually the rivalry carries over to our wielders." Plagg said chuckling humorlessly.

"So what happened tonight with me and Volpin... was normal?" Adrien asked not quiet understanding what Plagg was getting at.

"Not exactly. Usually those who we are partnered with have characteristics that match our own. As such those that usually rub us Kwamis wrong will rub our humans wrong, though this isn't always the case." Plagg said shuddering as he remembered the Persian incident. The only somewhat positive aspect about that was it reaffirmed his belief that pushing Tikki too far was bad for your health.

Adrien wanted to ask more about what caused his Kwami's reaction but decided to wait. He decided to ask a less sensitive inquiry.

"So what do you mean by the fact that I have characteristics that match your own? No offense but you and I have a tendency to disagree." Adrien said rubbing the back of his neck. Plagg just smiled. Adrien was by far his favorite partner in the last couple of cycles.

"We act very different, that's true, but when it comes down to it Adrien you are just as much of a cat as me, just in human form. Plus you and I both have one major thing in common." Plagg answered.

"Oh yeah? And what pray tell is that?" Adrien said chuckling figuring that the next words out of his Kwami were going to be ridiculous.

"We both love being free." Plagg stated.

Adrien felt like he had been sucker punched. Never had he thought that five words could have such a big impact on him. He couldn't refute them. The thing that he loved most about being Chat Noir was the fact he has free to be who he wanted to be, not who his dad wanted him to be.

"I can't argue with you there." Adrien said weakly chuckling. Plagg just looked at him in sympathy. The kid dealt with way too much in his young life.

"One last question why did you shudder earlier?" Adrien asked wanting to change to subject.

"I was remembering what happened once in Persia." Plagg said deciding to keep it simple hoping that Adrien would leave it alone. Not gonna happen.

"What happened in Persia?" Adrien asked perking up.

"Goodnight Adrien." Plagg said pretending not to have heard him.

"Oh come on. You don't dangle a story in front of someone and then leave them hanging." Adrien pleaded ( **Actually you do. Its called a cliffhanger** ).

Plagg groaned. This was going to be a long night.

~ ~ ~ The Next Morning ~ ~ ~

Marinette awoke feeling much better than last night. She looked at her clock and saw to her utter shock that she was awake before her alarm. That almost never happened!

Deciding to take advantage of the extra time she shut off her alarm and dressed for the day. Instead of heading downstairs Marinette began designing a new outfit. Half an hour later she had a rough sketch done. Today was shaping up to be a great day.

"Sweetheart, your friends are here!" Tom's voice boomed from downstairs. Marinette wasn't too surprised.

"Once second Papa." Marinette said as she climbed through her trap door. When she reached the living room she saw Felix on the recliner, while Nino was sprawled out on the couch. She glanced around and saw that Nathanael was coming from the kitchen with four plates of lost bread ( **French Toast** ) and four glasses of milk and orange juice.

"You know I am starting to wonder if you guys come to my house in the morning because you miss me, or if you want my parents cooking." Marinette teased.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course its for the food!" Nino said sticking out his tongue. Marinette made her way over the group's DJ and hit him lightly with a pillow by his feet.

"Speak for yourself. I am here to ensure that you don't oversleep." Felix drawled looking impassive, yet his eyes full of laughter. Marinette turned and threw the pillow in her hand at the blonde who ducked in time. Once Nathanael had put down the food Marinette draped her arm around his shoulder.

"Nathanael you are the only decent boy I am friends with." Marinette said in a dramatic tone.

"There, there." Nathanael patted her back fighting the laughter that bubbled in his throat.

Two seconds passed and the Quads burst out laughing. Tom and Sabine looked on smiling softly. The teens ate their food occasionally stealing bites from one an others plates and just enjoying each others presence.

"Alright now that we have eaten we must get going or else we will be late for the early bell." Felix said look down at his watch. Nino and Nathanael quickly exchanged eye rolls, while Marinette just shook her head. Somethings never change.

"I saw that." Felix said catching Marinette shaking her head.

"Good you were supposed to see it. After all, what is the fun of exasperating you, if you don't see it?" She retorted. The blonde didn't flinch, but his friends knew that he was inwardly rolling his eyes.

Tom watched at his daughter and her friends made their way to school. Never once had he doubted that those four would be reunited, but he was sad to see them all struggling. Their friendship wasn't exactly the same as it was years ago, they were different people, changed by both the good and the bad.

They were all walking on egg shells, hesitant on how far to take their teasing, even if they didn't realize it. But he knew that they would persevere and would once more have that closeness that people could only dream about. Given enough time their friendship would grow stronger than it was before the separation. He thanked his lucky star that he got to be there to see it happen.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

The day flew by quickly for the group. Chloe had decided to stay home due to the "traumatic" experience of yesterday, something that the Quad relished in. When the final bell rang they were all ready for their sleepover. Nate and Nino left to get their clothes for the night. Felix had brought his overnight bag with him when they had breakfast so he was going with Marinette to pick up Eris.

They quickly spotted the petite brunette due to her blue streaks. Felix's heart warmed as he watched one of his favorite girls laughing with one of her new classmates. While he decided to start school last week, wanting to reunite with his friends, Kyle and Ben decided to start Eris this week so that she could have more time to adjust. However her brothers misplaced the paperwork, so her first day was today.

Ben, Kyle, and Felix had been worried that their shy sister was going to have trouble adjusting and making friends, but it seemed that she was doing alright so far. Once Eris spotted Felix a big smile lit her face. She bid her new friend goodbye and she trotted over to her brother in all but blood, promptly squeezing him once she was close enough.

"Felix what are you doing here? You know that I am getting a ride from Kyle after school, so you don't have to come and check on me." She chirped once she released him.

"Actually Ery there has been a change in plans." Felix said ruffling her streaked hair. Eris tilted her head, confused at Felix's words.

"What do you mean?" She asked her brow furrowing.

"He means that tonight, you are sleeping over at my house. You must be Eris. I am Marinette. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Marinette said stepping closer holding her hand out to shake.

Eris's eyes widened once she heard Marinette's name. She ignored the handshake and instead hugged the older girl. Marinette hugged her back quickly, but was honestly was thrown by the preteens reaction. Felix had told her that she was very shy.

"I am so glad to meet the famous Marinette!" Eris said beaming as she released her hold on Marinette. Felix valiantly fought to keep the blush off his face as he realized just what he had gotten himself into.

"You know who I am?" Marinette said. Felix decided to forgo his aloof attitude and began to jester to Eris to stop talking. Eris was oblivious to this.

"Uh-huh! Felix has told me all about you, Nino and Nathanael." Eris said smiling brightly.

"He did?" Marinette said thrown by this new information. What could Felix have said to the shy girl that caused her to greet her so warmly?

Felix silently slapped his palm to his forehead and slowly dragged it down. He was now seriously regretting sharing all of those stories with Eris. He tried to plead to Eris to stop once more by clasping his hands in front of himself. Unfortunately his silent plea went unnoticed.

"Oh yes, Felix talked about your group all the time, but he talked about you the most. About how kind, creative, and courageous you were. I couldn't wait to meet you. Felix what are you doing?" Eris said, watching as Felix banged his head against the wall, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Trying to pretend that this is just an embarrassing dream that will go away when I open my eyes." He said his face an uncharacteristically shade of red. Eris blinked in confusion at Felix's odd actions.

Marinette was still in shock, blushing at hearing her friend's high praised of her character. She quickly shook it off and took in her best friends reaction, grinning at his over the top theatrics.

"Eris go grab your things. I will sort out Felix." Eris quickly nodded her acceptance and skipped down the hall, excited for tonight.

Marinette grabbed her friend's arm to stop him from banging his head against the wall. She then brought him into a firm hug. After a few seconds Felix hugged her back.

"Thank you for your kind words. I think very highly of you too Phoebus." She whispered before lightly kissing her best friends cheek.

This gesture calmed Felix down at the familiarity, and the warmth that it brought. It was what Marinette always did to calm the boys down. Especially when they were over reacting.

Once she felt her friend was calm enough, she stepped back. Felix flashed her a grateful smile and ran a hand through his hair. By the time Eris was back Felix was completely calm.

"Am I really allowed to sleepover?" Eris asked grabbing on to both teen's hands once they exited the school.

"Yep, but we are going to meet up with your brothers first to grab your overnight bag. They just got finished touring properties for the day. Kyle said to meet near the Arc de Triomphe."Felix said.

Marinette suppressed the urge to twitch. It had to be the Arc.

"Why the Arc?" Eris asked before squeaking. She then sported a full on blush and mumbled a small sorry. Marinette giggle at her adorableness.

"Apparently Volpin and Chat were having a friendly spar up there last night." Felix drawled, taking a hold of the brunette's hand. Marinette wanted to face palm. She was still steamed at her team mates' actions.

"Really?" Eris asked in wonderment. She was fascinated be the superheroes of Paris.

"If you ask me the cat most likely wasn't paying attention to the news and attacked the fox out of suspicion. Most likely the spar is a cover up, albeit a very believable one. Ladybug has a quick mind." Felix mused.

Marinette was torn between being annoyed. or impressed at how easily Felix figured out the situation. He always seemed to stir up those two responses. Still she was flattered by the praise that Felix gave out. He wasn't one to do so lightly.

The trio walked down the streets, Marinette and Eris talked trying to get to know one another, quickly developing a friendship. Felix stayed quiet, content to watch the two most important girls of his life getting along.

"By the way Felix, you said that Ben were looking at property. Are you guys buying another villa?" Marinette asked.

"In all honesty I am not sure. Kyle and Ben are being tight lipped about it, but I have a feeling that we are going to be in a penthouse suite like in New York. That or my parents are going to buy and a new manor and completely redo it." Felix answered rubbing his chin.

"That does sound like your parents." Marinette agreed. While his parents weren't always there, they did care about Felix more than anything else. All they wanted was for him to have only the best.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

"Ben! Kyle!" Eris said, quickly running up to her brothers. Once they saw her Ben bent down to give her a hug. He then spun her around in the air, all while she shrieked with delight.

"Hey Pixie." Ben said putting her. Kyle smiled at their most important girl.

"Hello little princess." Kyle said gently squeezing her. He looked up and saw his other brother and a girl that he never met. He knew without a doubt was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the person the Felix was arguably closest too.

"Hey little bro. Hey Mulan." Ben greeted the teenagers.

Ben had a habit of nicknaming those who he cared for. Though he had never met Marinette he cared for her, because of how much she ment to Felix. He chose Mulan because, while being a total badass, she was a true Disney princess. Needless to say he quickly gained Mari's friendship.

"Ben." Felix said with a Nod and a slight smile.

"Hey Ben." Marinette said giving him a small hug. She turned and saw a man wearing slightly more formal clothes than his double. He looked her up and down with a blank stare.

"You must be Kyle. Its a pleasure to meet you." She said holding her hand out for him to shake and flashing him a genuine smile. Kyle's eyes softened and he shook the Parisian girls hand.

"Believe me, the pleasure is mine, Miss Dubain-Cheng." Kyle said once he released her hand.

"Please call me Marinette, after all you are one of my best friends unofficial brothers after all." She joked causing Kyle to chuckle.

"Marinette it is then." He could see why Felix thought so highly of her. She was a genuine and friendly soul if he ever saw one.

"Felix." He nodded.

"Kyle." Felix said greeting him like he did Ben. Kyle gave Felix the bag he was holding.

"This is all that Eris should need for tonight. I want her in bed by 22:00 ( **10:00 pm** ) at latest, as it is a school night." Kyle said sending his sister a look.

"Understood." Eris said resigned.

"We'll give you a ride to the bakery." Kyle said gesturing to the car. The Bastille's had given it to the twins as a gift.

"Thanks." Felix and Marinette said in unison. They blinked and then looked at each other in surprise.

"And here I thought we were the twins." Ben teased before ushering the kids into the backseat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I was in the mood for a little fluff and to introduce some of my OCs. I hope you liked them.
> 
> Thank you for the reviews, favorites, bookmarks, follows, kuddos, and for just reading my story.


	13. The sleepover and the closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else mentioned in the story besides my oc and story line.

* * *

 

 

Eris couldn't believe how much fun she was having. Felix's friends were exactly as he had described and had welcomed her into their group without hesitation.

The Dupain-Cheng's that were just so nice from the get go. Sure Tom seemed a little intimidating, but so were her brothers. Sabine was an amazing cook just like her big brother Ben, and was really sweet.

When she started to stumble with her french all of her brothers friends switched to English so that she wouldn't have a hard time communicating. She understood now why the teens meant so much to her adopted older brother. After dinner Tom and Sabine bid the kids good night and headed to their room.

"Hey Eris, you can change into your sleepwear in my room." Marinette said, bidding the preteen to follow her.

"Okay." Eris said. The two girls headed upstairs. At first Eris was confused, thinking that the trap door lead into the attic. She was in awe when she realized that the upper floor was all Marinette's room. Marinette smiled at the girls reaction.

"Glad you approve." Marinette said, ruffling Eris's streaked hair.

"Now let's be quick about it. The last thing I want to hear is Felix commenting on how it-"

"Always astounds him how long it takes for the fairer sex to get ready." Eris finished with a giggle.

"He has been saying it ever since we started doing theater." Marinette said fondly shaking her head.

Within ten minutes both girls had changed. Marinette in her usual pajamas, a white t-shirt and pale pink sweatpants, and Eris was is a gray shirt with the words day dreamer written in blue and sky blue shorts with clouds on them.

"Ready?" Mare asked. Getting a firm nod the girls started their descent. Nathanael was walking into the room carrying a bowl of popcorn. He was wearing an orange shirt with a black paint brush on the front and a pair of black sweats with pallets on them in white. He smiled once he saw them and nudged Nino, who had been listening to music. Nino had changed into a pair of navy blue boxer short and a red muscle shirt. He waved at the girls. Eris looked around but couldn't spot Felix.

"Where is big brother?" Eris asked.

"Dude is getting the blankets." Nino said not looking up from his phone. Marinette's eyes widened. This wasn't going to end well.

As if to prove her point, a loud crash sounded from upstairs. The four rushed upstairs to see what was the cause. They stopped dead when they found the source. It was quiet for a moment, before Nino and Nate burst out laughing.

The source of the two boys amusement lay with Felix. He was sprawled out on the floor draped in fabric, towels, and a large amount of sequins. He had changed into a pair of green sweatpants and a gray tank with the word 'king of the theater' on them.

Eris smiled and headed downstairs, content that her brother was safe. She knew that her brother wouldn't want her to see him in this situation anyway.

Marinette on the other hand didn't move, for she found no humor in this situation. She made her way over to her fallen friend and held out her hand.

He had removed the fabrics and had successfully shaken off most of the sequins. It had created quite the mess, but at least it wasn't glitter, that stuff got everywhere. He looked up at the pig tailed teen before him and glance at her offered hand. He reluctantly grabbed it and heaved himself up.

Once Felix was on his feet, Nathanael had finally calmed down. He took a look at his friend's face and felt a chill down his spine.

Felix hadn't said a word. Not to snap, or make a drawling quip, as he normally would in this situation. Instead he was calm and stoic, even more than usual.

"Felix, is there something the matter?" Nathan asked, growing concerned.

Nino calmed right down hearing the tone of Nathan. He looked at the resident ice prince and saw that he was completely still. Seeing that he hadn't said a word Nino tried his luck at getting a reaction out of the blonde.

"Dude, We're sorry for, ya know, laughing at your tumble. We didn't mean to upset you bro." Nino said, eyeing his friend some more. Just like before Felix ignored them and stared straight at Marinette.

"You changed where the blankets were kept." Felix said, his voice clipped and cold. This startled the other two boys. They had been so caught up in the humor, that they didn't notice the fact that Felix was correct. He was standing in front of the linens closet, but the blankets and the pillows were missing. When had that changed?

Marinette stilled, her smile nowhere to be found. She should have guessed that this was going to happen. She took a deep breath and moved down the hall to open the door, that none of the boys had seen before. They moved forward to inspect the contents and discover the missing pillows and blankets.

"The closet was overflowing with towels, blankets, and the spare pillows, so my parents decided to create a new closet for just the blankets and pillows." Marinette explained.

"Then why were your fabrics and sewing materials in there?" Nathanael asked, puzzled at the closets additions.

Since I was running out of space in my room, my parents gave me half off the towel closet. It houses the fabrics and sewing supplies I don't need immediately." Marinette answered, biting her lip. She tried to keep her voice steady, but it was hard.

"When did this all happen?" Felix asked, his tone soft but carrying a weight. The weight of the true distance that had grown between the friends.

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She squared her shoulders, opened her eyes, and faced the boys.

"We changed it in the summer, the year after you left." Marinette said glancing away as she saw her boys stiffening.

The group was silent as they cleaned up the mess _._ Once everything was in it's proper place and the spare sequins had been tossed in the garbage, they grabbed the blankets and pillows and marched downstairs. Yet each carried the weight of just how much had changed between their once close knit group.

Eris looked up from the couch and was concerned by the solemn faces of hr brother and his best friends. She felt like she had missed something big after she had left, but knew that she couldn't do anything to make the teens feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I am killing you with the angst, but I decided that there needed to be a few moments where strain was noticeable. Let's face it, people need strife to become stronger, same with relationships. But who would have guess that something so simple as a closet, would have caused so much feels.
> 
> Thank you for reading my story, for the followings and favorites, for the kudos and bookmarks and especially the reviews.


	14. Sleepover Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to the next chapter
> 
> In case any one forgot {"this"} means a phone conversation.
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else mentioned in the story besides my oc and story line.

* * *

 

Marinette had so many emotions running through her head. She wished that Felix hadn't been the one to open the closet. It dredged up too many bad memories.

Tonight was supposed to be about their group coming together. Now all she wanted to close this gap that had grown. Her eyes looked down and she spotted the remote. A spark ignited into an idea. Maybe she could still do just that.

Hope and determination filling her heart, she marched from the kitchen to join her downtrodden friends in the living room, remote in her hand. They all turned to Marinette, curious about her change in mood. She flashed them a smile and summoned up all of her charisma.

"Is this a sleepover or not?" She asked. She watched as they nodded, not sure where she was going with this.

"Then why the hell are we not watching a movie?" She asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The boys all slowly started to smile as they caught onto Mare's plan. Since the group had met they had always bonded over movies. Now they would learn to mend their scars as well.

"I'll go make some more popcorn, it's seems ours has gone cold." Nathanael said, smiling as he made his way to the kitchen.

"I'll get drinks. What do all of you want?" Nino said, glad to push the sullen mood out of the way.

"I'll take a glass of lemonade please." Answered Marinette.

"That sounds perfect, make it two." Felix said, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

"If it's not an issue, could you please make it three?" Eris inquired softly. Nino smiled and nodded.

"Coming right up little lady." Nino said, bowing dramatically. Eris giggled as he retreated into the kitchen.

Felix got up from the sofa and went over to Mare. He gave her a tight hug.

"Nice work, Belle." He said with a grateful smile, as he pulled away. Marinette returned the smile, happy that it the strain had disappeared. Together they made their way to the couch.

Nate and Nino soon entered the living room again. Nathanael with a giant bowl of buttery popcorn, and Nino with 3 lemonades, and two cokes.

"So which movie are we watching?" Marinette asked with a grin.

"How about we let Eris decide?" Nino suggested. He already had warmed up to the preteen and wanted to help coax her out of her shell.

"A-are you sure that it's okay for me to pick?" Eris said quietly ducking her head. Nathanael shared a look with the others. They nodded their heads, letting Hiccup take the lead.

"We are sure. You are the guest, so you get first pick. Whatever you pick, will be amazing." Nathanael reassured her. The other teens nodded. Eris smiled brightly encouraged by the artist words.

"Could we do a Studio ghibli film?" Eris asked slowly, trying the gauge the teens reaction. To her relief all of them were smiling at the idea.

"A Miyazaki film? Dude I am always down for that!" Nino exclaimed. His friends smiled. Marienette went over to the movie cabinet.

"Any preference? I have almost the entire collection." Marinette called over her shoulder. Eris looked towards Felix. He smiled, encouraging her to speak up.

" _Spirited Away_  is my favorite." Eris said nibbling her lip.

"What do you think boys?" Marinette asked. Getting a hearty approval the blue haired youth grabbed the film. She turned on the television and the DVD player, popping in the disk.

The Quad quickly moved onto the couch, snuggled under the blankets. Eris sat between Felix and Nathanael, Marinette between Nino and Felix.

The main screen popped up and Marinette quickly hit play. Soon the group was swept up in the magic of the movie, smiling at the cute moments between Haku and Chihiro, crying tears of joy when Haku remembered his full name, and sporting bittersweet smiles as Chihiro and her family drove away, for they all knew that Chihiro's memories had been sealed. Before they realized it the movies was over and 2 hours had passed by.

The gang all stretched their legs and put away their cups and the popcorn bowl in the kitchen. Felix went into the kitchen and cleaned up the stray popcorn kernels. The Quad shuddered at what Sabine would do to them if they didn't clean up. The group quickly split up to brush their teeth. Once they had come back together, they saw that it was now 20:00 (8 pm). They had promised Ben and Kyle that they would head to bed at 22:00 (10 pm) so they only had 2 hours to watch another movie.

"Alright we have time for one last movie. Any request?" Marinette asked looking around. Just as Nino was about to answer, his cell phone went off.

" _Look how she lights up the sky,_

_Ma Belle Evangeline._

_So far above me yet I,_

_Know her heart belongs to only me._

_Je t'adore, Je t'aime Evangeline_ "

A silence fell onto the group as they gazed at the device. A moment latter, Nino dive bombed across the couch to get to the electronic, only for it to be snatched by Nate. He looked at the caller I.D and gave his friend a knowing look.

"Alya, huh?" Nathanael said, letting out a smirk that only those in their group were privy to. Marinette covered her mouth to prevent herself for laughing and Felix raised one of his perfectly arched brows at the now blushing DJ.

Nino scrambled to get back his phone, shooting a withering look at Nate that promised retribution later.

Eris turned to a giggling Marinette.

"Who's Alya?" She whispered to the teen.

"Alya Cesaire. She runs the Ladyblog and is my female best friend. She is also Nino's girlfriend." Marinette quietly answered with a smile. Eris's eyes widened and she let out a giggle finally understanding why the others were so amused.

"Hey Alya." Nino said, moving to the far corner of the room. This was negated when the four followed him so to better hear his conversation. He shot them a glare, but quickly turned his attention to the conversation he was having.

{"Hey Nino. I was just calling to touch base and get your opinion on the fight last night."} Alya's enthusiasm at a peak while talking about her hero.

"You mean the one between Volpin and Chat?" Nino clarified. Behind his back Felix was looking smug, Nathanael uncomfortable, Eris interested, and Marinette unreadable, since her face was buried in her hands.

{"What other fight would I be talking about?"} Alya asked in disbelief at her boyfriend's obliviousness. Nino always kept the volume high so this was heard by all of the eavesdroppers. Nino shot his friends a glare, daring them to say a word. Felix made the motion of zipping his lip, but he still had a smirk on his face. The others were stifling their laughter.

"What about the fight?" Nino asked wanting to get to the point. He cared for Alya, but her obsession tended to be a bit much at times. Plus he knew that the longer he was on the phone the more his friends would tease him.

{"There is a lot of debate over what actually happened on arc, so I decided to ask you on what you think of the situation."} Nino could practically see the reporter vibrating with excitement.

"I am flattered that you think so highly of my opinion, but why me?" Nino asked puzzled. His friends leaned closer to hear.

{"Isn't it obvious? While I relize you weren't at the arc, you would have sent a video if you were, you are one of the few people who met the newest hero. This makes you one of the best people to talk too. Plus I need to add something to the blog."} Alya replied. Nino struggled to come up with a reply. To be honest he hadn't watched the fight yet, so he hadn't formed an opinion.

"Alya like you said I wasn't there, the only ones who truly know what happen are Chat, Volpin, and Ladybug. Plus you focus too much on others opinions, didn't you just get in trouble for doing just that?" Nino pointed out to his girlfriend. Marinette sported a victorious grin as she found another person that had to deal with Alya's theories. Nino turned to her and gave her a thumbs up.

{"Don't remind me. I swear, you, Marinette, and Wren will never let me live that down."} Alya groaned. Nino and Mare shared a look of satisfaction.

"The fight is going to have enough coverage, so why don't you focus on Volpin instead?" Nino asked, hesitant to put out his idea.

{"Go on."} Alya asked intrigued.

"You can do interviews of those at the Volpina incident. Chloe is always ready to gush about Ladybug, and you know I will be willing to talk." Nino explained.

{"What about the person who was with you at the scene, the one making the side comments?"} Alya asked, curiosity evident in her tone. Nino's eyes widened. Felix had asked him to hold off on telling Alya about him, wanting to meet the girl first, so Nino obliged his friend.

"What do you mean?" Nino asked anxiously.

{"I know that I heard another person who was talking to you during the attack."} Alya answered.

"My battery is starting to die. Gotta go!" Nino said ending the phone and throwing it down. Marinette shook her head at Nino, while Felix rolled his eyes, and Nathanael was failing to control his laughter.

"You realize that the way you ended the call, just made her more suspicious, right?" Nathanael asked. Nino groaned and flopped down on the sofa.

"Don't remind me. You know how I get when I lie. If I don't have a set idea, I panic." Nino said. Deciding to be safe, instead of sorry, Nino shut off his phone, so to make his story more believable.

"You would think that you would grow out of that habit after growing up with us." Felix mused. Eris looked at her brother with wide eyes.

"Did you four get into a lot of trouble?" Eris asked. The quad looked at each other, not sure what to say.

"As a wizard once said "I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me" or in our case us." Marinette said.

"So you did get in trouble a lot?" Eris asked, still confused. Felix sighed and raked his hand through his hair.

"Yes we did. Though Marinette is right that it usually just found us naturally, for the most part." Felix admitted. Eris was dying to ask for stories, but held her tongue. She felt that the stories would expose themselves in time. Deciding to get back at the matter at hand Felix turned towards Nino.

"So, "Ma belle Evangeline"?" Felix asked with a smirk.

"Shut up." Nino asked, his face as red as the crab he got his nickname from. His friends and Eris laughed.

"Seriously Genie, were just teasing. Were happy that you got a girl like Alya." Nathanael said once he calmed down.

"Thanks." Nino said, a smile tugging at his lips. He was glad that he had his friends back. What he had with Adrien was awesome, but the bond that he shares with the Quad was something special.

"So what made you choose that ring tone for Alya?" Marinette asked, nudging her friend.

"You know I am a sucker for a good song, and this is one of the underappreciated ones from that film. Plus the song just fits her. She might devote a lot of time to the ladyblog, but she always makes time for me, and it means a lot to me." Nino said rubbing the back of his neck. His friends smiled.

"I must say, I am looking forward to meeting this girl, especially since she can keep Nino in line." Felix commented.

"Hey!" Nino exclaimed as all the kids laughed.

"Okay back to the issue, what movie are we going to watch?" Marinette asked smiling.

"I kind of want to hold off on Disney." Nate admitted.

"It has to be under two hours." Nate added after checking the clock.

"I was hoping for another animated." Eris chimed in.

"Alright so Animated, but not Disney, and under two hours." They all pondered on what movie fit this description. As Marinette met Felix's eye, an idea struck her. A twinkle glimmering in her eye.

"Oh no." Felix groaned.

"How about  _Rise of the Guardians_?" Marinette asked with a smirk, Felix glared at her knowing what she was up to. Nino and Nathanael shared a look before mouthing 'better than tv', commenting on Felix's and Mare's interaction.

"That sounds perfect!" Eris said smiling. Felix simply rolled his eyes, he knew that he couldn't argue since Ery agreed. Marinette quickly grabbed the movie and popped it in.

As the group watched they began to wonder which guardian fit Felix better Jack or Bunny. Felix stayed quiet know that if he said a word he would be saddled with yet another embarrassing nickname.

As the movie went on slowly the group nodded off, the only two left awake were Mare and Felix. The blonde looked down at his sister and softly smiled as he lay another blanket on her and kissed her forehead. Deciding that it would be to much effort the teens decide to let their friends sleep instead of waking them. It wasn't like they hadn't done it before.

Slowly the two teens got up from the couch and grabbed a spare mattress from the linen closet. The two snuggled under their blankets and basked in the silence that existed when everyone else slept.

Felix looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"Hey Swan." he called quietly, hoping not to wake the others.

"Yes Bagheera?" Marinette said turning towards him, her head slightly tilted.

"Thanks." Felix said, pulling her into a light hug. Marinette closed her eyes and smiled. She had missed this.

"Right back at you." She said. Neither asked why they said it, because it didn't matter to them. Slowly the two drifted off to the dream world. When Sabine and Tom came down the next morning they smiled at the sight.

Nino had ended up on the floor cuddling a pillow, his blanket on the floor beside him. Nathanael was propped against the small ottoman, an arm over his eyes. Eris was curled up at the small end of the L-shaped couch, a smile on her face. But the sight that touched the Dupain-Cheng's the most was the sight of Felix and Marinette curled up against each other, still clasped in their hug, their blankets kicked off in favor of the heat one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt that you guys deserved some fluff after the last chapter. O and be warned next chapter you are in for major fluff.
> 
> I love Spirited Away so I thought that I should do a shout out to it. If you are wondering where I got the last part, Miyazaki stated that all of the time that Chihiro spent in the spirit realm would be wiped from her memory. Its sad but I wanted to add this little tidbit.
> 
> The song is "Ma Belle Evangeline" from the movie The Princess and the Frog and it acts as Nino's ringtone for Alya. I thought it was kind of perfect because I can just picture Nino serenading Alya with this song.
> 
> The quote is from J.K Rowling's third book and it is said by Harry. I do not own Harry Potter. Though I do admire J.K Rowling a lot.
> 
> I felt that you guys deserved some fluff after the last chapter. O and be warned next chapter you are in for major fluff.
> 
> So what do you think should I have the Quad start calling Felix Bunny and/or Jack Frost?
> 
> Thank you to all who left reviews or kuddos, and decided to bookmark/favorite/follow my story. It means so much that I have your support.


	15. A Boat Ride and a Trip to the ParK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salut my readers. 
> 
>  
> 
> {""} - this means talking on the phone  
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else mentioned in the story besides my oc and story line.

* * *

 

~ **Before School** ~

Felix packed up his bag and he quietly observed his friends and sister chatting. When the Quad the woke up the next morning, it was like a breath of fresh air. There had been so much tension between the friends that it had stifled their ability to reconnect. Now that it was partially gone, it meant that he and his friends could work on getting rid of the rest without having an incident like last night. He was just glad his honorary sister was, for the most part, ignorant of what really happened.

The grey green eyed lad sighed. He didn't regret leaving Paris, not entirely. If he hadn't left he wouldn't have discovered a family in the Morays or learn just how much the Quad meant to him. Still he wished that they didn't part the way they did. He smiled as he glanced once more at his friends. But now, things were different, and he couldn't be happier that they had a chance to make sure that their friendship would be stronger.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

After class the Quad went to the park to enjoy the sunshine. The four teens sat around a bench and stretched, glad to be done with school.

"Hey I almost forgot." Nathanael exclaimed, a smile spreading on his lips.

"What?" Nino asked, the rest of the quad turned to look at the red head.

"My parents surprised me with four tickets to go on a ferry on the Seine for today at 17:15 (5:15 pm). They thought it would be a nice treat." Nathanael said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Awesome!" Marinette exclaimed, bouncing on her feet. Nathanael turned to look at Felix and Nino and saw that they each had a look on their face.

"What is it?" Nate asked, dreading the worst.

"I have trumpet lessons from 17:10 (5:10 pm) until 18:10 (6:10 pm), so I can't come." Nino admitted. Nino had been playing music since he was little and played the turntables, trumpet, and cello. Of those instruments, the trumpet was his favorite.

"I will also be indisposed as I too, have music lessons. The only difference is that my violin lesson is from 17:00 (5:00 pm) until 18:00 (6:00 pm)." Felix said, an apologetic look in his eyes.

"Seriously, but last week you were free." Nathanael said puzzled.

"My teacher had canceled the lessons that week." Nino replied.

"And I had yet to schedule lessons, as we only moved last week." Felix elaborated. Nathanael sighed in defeat and hung his head. Marinette moved over to the downtrodden artist and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Hey cheer up Robin. You still have me." She said. Nathanael's thoughts froze for a second. He was now going on a ferry with the girl that he had feelings for. Suddenly the news wasn't so bad anymore.

"I'd like that, maybe we can bring our sketchpads and draw while on the ferry." Nathanael suggested.

If the Quad had bonding activities than sketching together was Mare's and Nate's. During the horrid summer the two would meet up and sketch as often as they could.

"That would be great! Maybe you can show me some of the ladybug comics you have been working on?" Marinette proposed.

"And you can show me the ladybug themed designs that I know that you have tucked away." Nathanael replied.

"General Bastille, we are losing them to art talk!" Nino interrupted. Felix inwardly rolled his eyes, but decided to play along. After all when the two of them got started of art, it was very hard to steer the conversation away.

"You are right Major Lahiffe, we need to intervene at once!" Felix said in a no nonsense tone. He then let out a devious smirk and proceeded to tickle Mare mercilessly as Nino stole Nathan's sketch pad. For the next five minutes the Quad were laughing as they chased each other around like they were little kids again. As the four collapsed breathless, a tone cut through the air.

"Swan I am not the least bit surprised that "Pirates of the Caribbean theme" is your default ringtone." Felix drawled. Marinette stuck her tongue out and answered the phone, making sure to turn up the volume so her friends could hear.

"Hello?"

{"Marinette, hi it's Nadja Chamack."} came the frazzled voice of the reporter.

"Hi, Nadja. You sound upset, is everything alright?" Marinette asked concerned.

{"Actually that is why I am calling you. My boss just thrust a last minute interview on me and I have no one to watch Manon. I hate to do this to you put could you possibly take her for a few hours? I will pay extra for your time."} Nadja pleaded through the phone.

Marinette was torn. On one hand she wanted to help out her mother's friend, plus she loved spending time with Manon. On the other hand she was looking forward to spending some one on one time with Nathan. Spending time with him just talking and sketching was one of the only good things that happened during that awful summer.

Nate was also conflicted. He wanted to be selfish and have sometime with Marinette to himself, but knew that it wouldn't be right. He looked down at the tickets and had an epiphany.

"Ask Nadja if it is okay to take Manon on a Ferry ride." The artist told the designer. Marinette looked puzzled but then realization lit up her eyes. She was truly blessed with amazing friends.

"Hey Nadja, would it be okay if me and one of my friends take Manon on a ferry ride if we take her this afternoon?" Marinette asked.

{"That sounds great. I have no issue and I am sure that Manon would love to go. Thank you so much Marinette."} Nadja replied.

"It's nothing." Marinette replied.

{"I will text you the Address of her school and call ahead, that way you won't have any issue picking her up. I should be done by 18:15 (6:15 pm) so I should be able to pick up Manon at the Bakery at 18:30 (6:30 pm). Thank you again Marinette." Nadja said hanging up. As soon as Marinette ended the call she threw herself at Nathanael and gave him a giant hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Marinette repeated and kissed the artist's cheek. Unknown to the designer the artist caught in her hug resembled a tomato with how deep he was blushing.

"You're sure you are okay with helping me watch Manon?" Marinette asked, finally letting go. Thankfully for Nathanael he had already calmed his blush.

"It isn't a big deal Belle, with how much you talk about Manon I have been looking forward to meeting her. Besides this way only one ticket gets wasted instead of two of them." The redhead assured his crush, rubbing the back of his neck. He was rewarded with a dazzling smile.

Just then a text chime came from Marinette's phone, which Marinette quickly responded too.

"That was Nadja she said that we are free and clear to pick up Manon. Ready to go Nate?" Marinette asked. getting a nod she quickly hugged her two other friends.

"Bye Nino, bye Jack Frost." Marinete called as she took off running, leaving a smiling Nino and fuming Felix.

"See ya Sebastian, later Bunny." Nathanael said, running to catch up with Marinette. They left to the sound of Nino laughing and Felix cursing.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

Marinette and Nathanael chatted as they strolled down the hall of their old school. Nadja had texted Marinette that Manon would be waiting in the main office with her teacher until the teens got there.

"So any tips for me on Manon?" Nathanael asked.

"Manon is a ball of energy, and doesn't exactly have the best filter, just to warn you." Marinette replied.

"Consider me warned. Anything else?" the Artist asked.

"Watch out for her eyes, they are an ultimate defence crusher." Marinette said vaguely. Hiccup look at her, trying to see how serious she was. Deciding not to let it worry him he nudged his pig tailed companion when he spotted the office. Outside of the office was a young male teacher. When he spotted the teens he made his way over.

"Are you Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" He asked.

"Yes I am, here is my student I.D." Marinette said, grabbing her wallet. The teacher took it and studied it for a moment.

"Sorry for the hassle, but with her mom being such a public figure, we want to make sure that Manon is safe." The teacher said, handing back the I.D.

"I understand completely." Marinette replied.

"Wait right here while I go get her." He went into the office and was followed by a small girl with two messy ponytails in overalls. She was frowning until she spotted Marinette.

"Marinette!" She shouted, charging at the teen. Mari crouched down and opened her arms wide scooping her up in a hug.

"You are the one who's going to be babysitting me?" Manon asked once she finished her hug.

"Well me and my friend." Mari replied, pointing to the redhead standing near by.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Manon asked, tilting her head. Both teens turned pink and waved their arms around.

"No, no, no. The two of us are best friends, but we are not dating." Nathanael said coming closer. He squatted and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Manon. My name is Nathanael. I have heard a lot about you from Marinette." Nathan said smiling at the younger girl.

"Really?" She asked, hands clasped.

"Really, really. Now I have a question for you." Nathanael said seriously.

"What is it?" Manon asked not turning away from the artist.

"How do you like boats?" he asked smiling.

"I love them!" She said happily.

"That's good because you, Marinette, and I are going on one today." Nathanael said mock whispering.

"Yay!" Manon said jumping around. Marinette giggled and shared a smile with one of her best friends. Today was going to be a good day.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

Nathanael watched as Manon dragged Marinette to the top deck, and quietly followed after them. She had chatted with the two teens the entire time to the docks and he could see why she meant so much to Marinette.

"Hurry up Hiccup!" Marinette called from the level above. Nathan shook himself from his thoughts and proceeded to the next level. When he reached the top he observed that the three of them were the only ones on this deck.

"Nathanael! Nathanael! Is it true that you were the Akuma?" Manon asked. Nathanael winced inwardly and observed Marinette look at him apologetically. Seems that Manon hadn't yet learned the importance of a filter.

"Yeah I was." Nathanael admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So was I!" Manon chirped cheerfully, not comprehending how much those words meant.

"What?" Nathanael asked his blood turning cold.

"My mom said that I transformed into an Akuma, The Puppeteer." Manon explained. Nathanael looked over at Marinette for confirmation, and was felt his heart plummet when she nodded. What Hawk Moth did was horrid, but he never thought that someone so young would be affected by one man's greed.

He felt a tug on his jacket. He turned his head and saw that Marinette had moved next to him. She nodded her head to Manon, who was looking at him, eyes full of curiosity. He decide to leave his dark thoughts for now.

"Sorry about that, I got lost in thought." Nathanael said, smiling down at the child before him.

"So which Akuma were you?" Manon asked.

"I was The Evilustrator." Nathanael admitted, not expecting Manon to know about him since it was a pretty isolated incident.

"Really! That is one of my favorite dolls!" Manon exclaimed eyes shining. Nathanael turned to look at Marinette and saw that she was blushing.

"Dolls?" He asked, wondering what that was about.

"Marinette made dolls of Chat Noir, Ladybug, Rogercop, Lady Wifi, The Evilustrator." Manon informed the artist. Nathanael turned his head towards his crush.

"Why those specific Akuma's?" He asked. Marinette's blush intensified.

"Alya requested one of her Akuma form after She saw my Ladybug doll, Rogercop was pretty straightforward to make, and," Marinette took a breath, her blush now as red as his hair, and quietly mumbled, " and the Evilustrator is kinda one of my favorites."

Nathanael now sported a blush of his own. Marinette pushed her fingers together.

"By the way I am sorry." She said to her best friend.

"For what?" He asked, not sure what she was apologizing for.

"Puppeteers ability was to control the dolls and force the dolls human counterpart to do their bidding, if I hadn't made those dolls..." Marinette trailed off, not sure how to end that sentence.

"Huh, that explains why I had a memory blank. You squirt are one major powerhouse." Nathanael said. Hard to believe that someone that was half his age had that much power and, by his guess wasn't even at her peak. Manon beamed at the compliment and started to talk about different subject, while the two teens listened attentively.

Marinette forgot how easy it was to be around Nathanael. She had a unique relationship with each of her boys, Nino. was like a brother, Felix was her first friend and constant verbal sparring partner, but nathanael was a bit harder to define. He was the one who shared her artistic hobbies and there was rarely a time that she wasn't able to be comfortable around him. He always listened when she had a problem. Just like with all of her other boys, she didn't realise just how much she missed him, until she got him back.

As they approached a bridge. Marinette let out a giggle. Manon stopped and looked at her favorite babysitter.

"What is it?" The elementary student asked.

"Nothing it's just that, this kinda reminds me of the ship scene from  _Anastasia_." Marinette admitted. She nearly groaned at the sparkle in Manon's eyes.

"Marinette showed me that one! She even promised to make me my own dress like the one from the film! You have to do the dance!" Manon said in rapid succession.

"I don't know..." Nathanael started, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Pleeeeeease?" Manon interrupted, with a pout. Nathanael's and Marinette's wills crumpled as they admitted defeat. They nodded their consent. A smiled bloomed on Manon's face.

"Yay!" She shouted happily.

"Now I see what you meant about her having a lethal weapon." Nath murmured to Mare. She simply nodded back at him. He pulled out his phone and brought up his music.

"You still remember how to waltz? Marinette asked.

"But of course." Nathanael replied. The Quad, besides judo lessons, had taken dancing lessons all through their childhood thanks to the Bastille's insisting that they should learn in case of social events so Felix wouldn't be alone.

"Any requests for songs?" Nate asked.

"Since we are dancing to Anastasia, why not "Once upon a December"? Besides, I like that song better than the one at the end." Marinette suggested. Manon nodded enthusiastically and Nathanael smiled at her choice. Once he had the song pulled up he hit pause. He bowed to Marinette.

"May I have this dance Belle?" Nathanael said, flashing her a grin. She let out a laugh and a beautiful smile. She got up and curtsied to Nathan.

"But of course Robin." She said, giving her phone to Manon. Nathanael put his phone down and pressed play.

" _Dancing bears,_

_Painted wings,_

_Things I almost remember,_

_And a song someone sings_

_Once upon a December_."

As the opening verse played Nathanael and Marinette began to waltz. Neither had danced formally in a while, but both tried to keep up practice when they could. When Marinette stepped on Nathanael's foot she couldn't help but wince.

"Sorry. I am a bit more out of practice than I realised." She apologized, blushing.

"Don't worry about it. After all it's just you and me. We don't have anyone we need to impress." Nathanael replied, smiling. Mare smiled back and let go of some of the tension in her shoulders. She giggled.

"Hey Nate I think I remembered the cardinal rule of waltzing." Marinette said.

"Oh and what's that?" Nathanael inquired.

"Don't over think it and just have fun." Marinette said with a dazzling smile. Her dance partner laughed.

After that the two dance perfectly, just as they had when they were younger. Nathanael spun Marinette out, and as she came back into his arms. She couldn't help but come to the realization that her friend had become very handsome.

" _Things my heart used to know,_

_Things it yearns to remember_

_And a song someone sings_

_Once upon a December_ "

Nathanael, wasn't sure what made him do it, but he decided to do something daring. As the song came to an end, he moved closer to Marinette, eyes focused on her lips.

Marinette still dazed by her realization about Nathanael, couldn't help but watch as her friend leaned in. She wasn't sure how she felt but, went with what felt right.

The two teens closed their eyes, hearts hammering, heads tilted in opposite directions, and moved slowly to meet.

"Wow you two were amazing!" Manon's voice broke through the haze.

The teens jumped apart, eyes wide opened. Neither could look at the other without blushing up a storm. As Manon started sing their praises. Marinette thoughts drifted to the dance.

Was Nathanael going to kiss her? More importantly, was she going to let him? Marinette couldn't help but feel that something had changed, yet she couldn't tell what that was.

Today had not gone as either teen expected, but it was definitely memorable.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

~ **Eris's POV** ~

"Very good!" The Viola instructor said. Eris lowered her bow and gave her new teacher a smile, happy to have made the way through the song without making any major mistakes.

"Thank you." The tween said, blushing just a bit.

"I must say you have a lot of talent for someone who has only been playing for 18 months." Her new teacher complimented. Eris blush deepened. She put away her Viola and bow.

"My brother gave me a lot of tips while I was learning. He has been playing a lot longer than me." Eris said.

"Be that as it may, it is still your talent. Now these are the pieces I want you to work on for next week."

"Goodbye Madame." Eris said as she exited the room. She made her way outside the music school. Felix was waiting for her with Nino, much to her surprise.

"Hey Fairy!" Nino called out. After hearing Ben's nickname for Eris, Nino couldn't resist calling her fairy. Eris had allowed it as she liked the nickname.

"Turns out that we are at the same school, we just didn't realize it until, I bumped into Bagheera, while he was waiting for you." Nino said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Small world." Eris chirped, smiling up at her brothers best friend.

"Not really, this is the only music school that is near our neighborhood that have decent teachers that don't charge absurd amounts" Felix bluntly stated.

His two companions shared a look and let out a laugh. Felix resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only just.

"Hey do you guys want to go to the Tuileries Garden? It's only a short walk from here and I am guessing that Eris hasn't gone yet." Nino suggested, not wanting to part with his friends just yet.

"I would love to do that. Can we please go Felix?" Eris asked. She liked hanging out with all of the quad. It allowed her to see a new side of her adoptive brother. Plus she loved gardens.

"Well I would have to be pretty heartless to say no to that face." Felix said, his stoic mask in place.

"Thank you so much!" Eris said, pouncing to give Felix a hug.

The three College students walked down the street enjoying the warm temperature and light breeze. As they walked Eris took time to study Felix. She remembered back when she met the aloof teen. Her brothers had accepted the live in position with the Bastilles. Felix's ice nature had scared her at the beginning and frustrated Ben and Kyle as they didn't know what to make of their charge.

One day she and her brothers found him looking at a photo album (identical to the one Mari showed Tikki in the first chapter) and she somehow mustered up the courage to ask him about it. The siblings had watched in awe as the stoic teen cracked the first smile they had seen him wear that day as he talked about his closest friends. After that the Morays began to see Felix as their brother and he in turn treated them like family as well.

Felix had let them in a lot, but he was still distant. She had never seen him more excited than when his parents had told them of their plans to move back to Paris and offer them a chance to continue to work for them. Since they arrived it had been like Felix was a new person.

"Hey Felix, Nino?" Eris said, biting her lip.

"What is it Ery?" Felix asked, looking over to his sister.

"How did you two meet, if you don't mind me asking?" Eris asked, hopping she didn't cross a line. The boys smiled and chuckled in remembrance.

"Nah it's fine Fairy. We met in preschool." Nino started off.

"Marinette and I hadn't yet attended preschool. Her parents had been planning on enrolling Swan at age 5 so she could start learning to read, and I was watched and taught by my nanny. After we became friends the Dupain-Chengs convinced my parents to enroll me in the same preschool so that we would have a friend already. We ended up enrolled in the same school as Nino." Felix inputted.

"Whether it was luck or fate both ended up in my class. Because of Felix's cold defense and Mari's refusal to leave his side both were left on their own. I didn't know anyone in the class that year, so I was also a loner. We were in the same class, but we didn't really interact. That changed a month after school started, when a new student transferred in. Any guesses who?" Nino asked.

Eris thought for a moment until it came to her.

"It was Nathanael wasn't it?" She asked, confident that she was right. Felix nodded and decided to tell the next part of the story.

"Nathanael was painfully shy back then and it didn't help that he was the new kid. Kids can be cruel and one boy started making fun of this hair. We hadn't had a red haired student before." Felix nudged Nino to tell him to continue the story.

"When recess came some of the other boys started to mess with Hiccup. He tried to stand up to them and tell them to knock it off but they didn't listen. My gramps had always taught me to do what I thought was right, so I decided to defend Nate. However, this didn't stop the bullying. Instead they started to target yours truly." Nino said pointing to himself.

"What happened after that?" Eris said absorbed in the story.

"That is where me and Mare came in. We had seen the bullying and weren't impressed. We were about to intervene when we saw, to our surprise, our fellow loner intervene. We were impressed by his bravery and the fact that he was willing to help out a stranger. That is when we decided to lend a helping hand." Felix said.

"It surprised everyone when those to came up to the circle. Phoebus here glared at the bullies until they parted the circle. He then helped Nathanael and me to our feet. The main perp was about to start it again, when out popped Mari. She told the boys to leave us alone or else," Nino continued smiling as he remembered what happened after that.

"The child made the mistake of asking or else what. Mari flashed a cyanide smile that caused all of bullies to back off. She then sat down and let out a loud wail with tears. This caused the teacher to come running. She then accused the boys of shoving her and making fun of her dress, as well as her new friends."Felix drawled and finished with a smirk. Eris jaw dropped in astonishment. Who knew that young Marinette was so devious?

"Man you should have seen how much the boys protested. But when Felix backed up her story, it shot down any chance that the bullies had of getting of scot free, as those two were the established teacher's pets." Nino said, laughing at the memory.

"Marinette then proceeded to invite Nathan and Nino to join our table. When they asked why, she just tilted her head and said that she felt that we were good people. I had a different reason." Felix said simply.

"Felix here said that he would never share his best friend with such ruffians. However both of our actions actions showed that we were on a higher level than our classmates, so he didn't mind sharing Marin with us. The four of us were best friends since that day." Nino finished shaking his head at the memory.

"Wow." Eris said in awe of the story. The two teens just chuckled.

The rest of the short walk was silent until they hit the Tuileries garden. The teens watched as Eris flitted around taking in the beginning of spring. (T **hat is the season this story takes place in** )

As they made their way down the path the students heard the sound of music. Curious the teens walked faster, hoping to find the source. They found a band of musicians playing in front of the Octogonal fontain. Deciding that there was no harm in it, the trio joined the crowd to enjoy the music.

After the song was finished one of the the artist saw the teen and, more importantly their instrument cases. Nudging his band mates the musician pointed out the boys.

"Hey kids, how about you show what you can do with those instruments of yours." The band yelled out their approval.

The boys tried to back down, but Eris decide that she wanted to see them play together. She got behind them and pushed them forward. Felix and Nino weren't prepared so they stumbled into the center of the circle. The crowd and band cheered at the duo, letting them know that they weren't getting out of this without performing. The boys looked back at Eris, feeling slightly betrayed. She just flashed them a cheeky grin and a double thumbs up.

"And here I thought she was innocent." Nino muttered to Felix.

"Every once in awhile she lets out her devious side, much like a designer we know." Felix answered back.

"Might as well make it enjoyable, after all it has been a while since we played together." Felix told his friend bending down to get his violin.

"Since we are doing this for fun, how about F. J. Gossec's "Gavotte" in D major?" Nino proposed. It was a piece that both loved and had played together before. Felix let out a smile.

"That sounds perfect Genie." Felix said. After making sure his Violin was tuned correctly, the stoic teen gave his friend a grin. They made their way to the temporary stage.

The two nodded at each other to begin. Felix raising his bow to his shoulder, and Nino brought his trumpet to his lips. Both of them closed their eyes as they played the tune.

The crowd was spellbound within a few notes. They listened as the two instruments unique sounds blended together to create a beautiful song. It was soft and light and full of happiness that those who listened couldn't help but smile.

Eris was just as enraptured, She couldn't help being a bit envious of the talent both possessed. However, these thoughts were dashed as she looked at the smile on her adoptive brothers face. An expression that was so different from when she first heard him play.

~ ~ ~ Flashback ~ ~ ~

~  **2 years ago**  ~

Eris watched from behind the couch, completely spell bound as Felix played on his beloved violin.

The song was so beautiful, but at the same time was so heart wrenching. She could feel tears beginning to form, but she didn't care. All she could think about was how sad her new friend looked.

Felix lowered his bow and sighed.

"I know you're there." Felix said not looking at where Eris was hiding. The young girl squeaked. She ducked back behind the couch. She had thought she was being so stealthy.

"H-how did you know?" Eris asked. The teen sighed again. He walked over and look down at the girl who he was beginning to think of as a little sister.

"I heard you closing the door. I don't mind you listening, but next time ask me." Felix said, his stoic mask in place.

"I will, I promise." Eris said nodding her head.

"Good, now is there anything you need." Felix asked.

"I-I just wanted to know…" Eris inhaled and looked him straight in the eyes "Why is your playing so sad?"

Felix's eyes widened. For a moment he wanted to tell her it was none of her business, but refrained from doing so. She was just curious.

"I am missing something." He said vaguely instead.

~ ~ ~ Flashback End ~ ~ ~

After that Felix's playing did get happier, but it still lacked something. For years Eris pestered her brother, but he kept silent, even after she started playing to viola six months after he moved to america.

Watching him play with his friend, she finally understood what was missing. True joy. Felix had lost his friends and had no way of contacting them. Without the ones he treasured, Felix would never be able to play to his fullest. She was glad that ne could from now on.

Watching from the far side of the crowd was a short man of asian descent. He watched the blond teen as he finished his song.

"He reminds you of his aunt, doesn't he master?" Came the calm tone of a small turtle floating above the man's shoulder.

"Indeed Wayzz. He is so much like Isabelle was at her age." Master Fu said before walking away with a sigh. 'He would have been better partner for Duusu as well.' he thought quietly to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are wondering why I had the lessons and boat ride so late, it is because when I looked up what time school lets out in France it said 16:30 or 4:30 pm. The downside of having a two hour lunch.
> 
> Yes I am having Nino play the trumpet and cello. We already know he plays the turntables, but I feel that he wouldn't have started out learning that type of music, so I started picturing him playing the trumpet and and a cello offers a lot of options for duets.
> 
> I already stated that Felix played the violin. I figured that it was a good instrument to counter Adrian's piano. Felix was an early version of Adrian so I figured that giving him an instrument wasn't too much of a stretch.
> 
> I love the pirates and I thought that it would be a good ringtone. Wait until you find out what Marinette's ringtone is for her parents.
> 
> Anastasia is one of my favorite movies and I have watched it over a dozen times. A ferry on the Seine was a perfect way to reenact that scene. It also gave a huge What if moment for Mare and Nate, I just decided to use my favorite song from the film. Plus I guess I have been creating a lot of Felix and Marinette moments or as I call it Sass off, so I decided to spice it up and make some Fanart moments, that is my ship name for Mari x Nath. My friend mystic showed me that pairings can be both romantic and platonic so I decided to name them. If you want more ship names let me know.
> 
> As a friend pointed out, I haven't told a lot about Eris so I thought some background and PoV from her would be good. Plus she is freakin adorable. Her inspiration was taken from Wendy of Fairy Tail, one of my all time favorite Animes.
> 
> Tuileries is an actual public garden that is about 13 minutes by foot to the Louvre according to Google maps. I thought it would be an appropriate place for a concert. And if you look up the image the fountain is an octagon.
> 
> If you guys want to hear the song that I choose for Nino and Felix to play go to youtube and look up "Gavotte" trumpet & violin duet La corda d'oro primo passo, it is a great song and I thought fit very well.
> 
> The song that Felix is playing in the flashback is "Tsukiyo no Violinist", but the easiest way to find it is to look up Ikuto's Violin song. It acts as the character song for Tsukiyomi Ikuto from the anime Shugo Chara, another of my favorite animes.
> 
> Just to let you know that while I am using the Canon name for the peacock Kwami, I refuse to have it be a girl! A peacock is a male, not a female. If it was a female it would have been a peahen and brown.
> 
> Thank you to all who left reviews or kuddos, and decided to bookmark/favorite/follow my story. It means so much that I have your support.


	16. Parley, Prima, and Scheming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!  
> Sorry for the delay but it took awhile to get it right. Plus it my longest chapter yet.  
> {""}- this means phone conversation  
> I don't own Miraculous: Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

* * *

 

~Thursday Morning~

Felix took in the early morning sights on his way to the Bakery, and how almost everything was still. He loved getting up early as it was the only time the grand city was calm before it shook off the daze of last night and truly awoke. New York was amazing but it was called the city that never slept for a reason. He had learned to love the city but he had missed the quiet mornings of Paris.

He knocked on the front door of the bakery, knowing that Sabine and Tom were already up making their baked goods so they were fresh and ready for opening. Tom quickly opened the door and gave one of the boys he viewed as his son a quick squeeze.

"Felix, wasn't expecting you this early, though I shouldn't be surprised." Tom said. Back when Felix still lived in Paris he would wake up early and would take walks to get his mind going. Once he started staying over at the bakery more, he instead devoted his mornings to helping out at the bakery. Since where one friend went the other followed, waking up early was also something that Marinette learned to do. Now that Felix was back in his city of origin he wanted to continue the tradition at least once a week.

"Is Mare up yet?" Felix asked, returning Tom's hug. Tom sighed as he looked at Felix.

"I am afraid that once you left, my daughter didn't kept up the habit of waking up early." Tom looked closer at the boys face and gave an amused grin.

"Though by the look in your eyes neither did you." Tom said. Felix offered a quick up turn of the lips.

"You got me there, but I think that I will start doing it again." Felix said, running a hand through his hair.

"How about you start doing after you have fully adjusted to Paris time." Sabine called out from behind the counter.

"Yes mam. Though you think that it's okay for me to wake up Marinette? I kinda felt like a P of D." Felix replied looking down, not seeing Sabine and Tom share a fond smile.

In the past when the two decided to forgo helping out in the bakery as they just wanted to talk, two would get the biggest blanket that would fit them both, and get a mug of hot chocolate after getting ready for the day. What they did really depended on their moods. They could do anything from watch cartoons to read a book together, and, more often than not, just end up talking. They would talk until it was time to go to school, or until they fell back asleep cuddled up next to each other. It was one of the only traditions that was just Marinette's and Felix's, not the Quads.

It began during a fight where neither one was letting up. Finally fed up with the unending war, Marinette drew inspiration from one of her favorite movies and called for a Parley. They ended up having the talk at the sunrise and it was dubbed Parley at Dawn. Ever since then P of D was used as a ceasefire and a way for the two of them to stay close to their first friend.

Sabine smiled and gave the blond a hug.

"Go ahead and get her up. She may be grumpy, but I think she would like that. I will make you some hot chocolate and prepare breakfast. Ah I insist." Sabine said, holding out a hand to cut of Felix's protests. He closed his mouth and gave Sabine another hug.

"Thanks." He whispered.

Bounding up the stairs, yet walking softly, he went off to the steps to Mari's room. Opening the trap door silently, he spotted his favorite blue eyed designer in the midst of a dream. A plan slowly formed in his mind and he fought to keep the smirk off his face.

Walking up the steps to her bed he crouched down and gently shook his friend.

"Marinette. Time for a little talk." Felix whispered. Marinette just shrugged off his hand, barely even stirring. Felix hoped this would happen. This gave him a reason to use the method that had yet to fail him.

Getting up from his crouch, he moved to the end of her bed and, like the cats he loved, pounced on the unsuspecting pray.

"GAH!" Marinette said now wide awake. As she blinked her eyes she saw a familiar set of grey green eyes staring down at her.

"FELIX!" Marinette shout could be heard from the Bakery. Tom and Sabine barely acknowledged the exclamation, the only sign that they heard was Sabine reaching into her pocket and giving Tom a bill.

"I told you he was going to use the usual method." Tom stated.

Marinette wasted no time pushing Felix off of her. Felix's face might have been straight but inwardly he was laughing up a hurricane.

"How many times have I told you not to do that." Marinette growled.

"Careful Belle you are starting to sound like the Beast." Felix drawled fighting the smirk that was tugging at his lips.

"Besides, you should be thanking me, now at least there is a chance that you won't be late." Felix fibbed.

Marinette's eyes widened and she quickly scrambled over her downed friend.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier, Phoebus!" She said, taking the stairs two at a time. Her sleep addled mind forgetting the fact that her friend would never wake her up this late. That would end up making him late.

"I tried to earlier, but you fell back asleep. how was I supposed to know that you didn't set your alarm." Felix said giving a half truth and discreetly clicked off the alarm clock by her bedside table. He glanced down at his friend, but quickly averted his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be doing that once I am out of the room?" Felix said, fighting a small blush, but otherwise not reacting.

"We don't have time. I trust you enough to not do anything, besides it's not that much different than when we used to do theater." Marinette teased.

"This is a bit different than doing drama." Felix grumbled under his breath, but otherwise didn't comment.

One of the first rules of theater that the Quad learned was that when you have to do a quick costume change plus limited space is that modesty isn't something that you could afford. It made the Quad more comfortable with changing in front of the others.

After changing into her outfit Marinette straightened her jacket, satisfied with her appearance.

"Can I look now?" Felix asked. She rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.

"Yes I am done." Marinette answered. She moved to her computer to turn on the monitor. Felix seeing this bolted to the trap door, he knew what was coming next. He was halfway down the steps when Marinette realized she had been tricked.

"BAGHEERA!" This shout much larger than the last.

Sabine glanced up and held out her hand. Tom just shook his head and handed her back the money.

"And I told you he could get her ready in fifteen." Sabine sing songed as she walked upstairs.

As she turned the knob she took in the sight of her living room. She watched as Marinette chased around Felix a pillow in her hand. The blonde ducked as she threw them at him, or grabbed a pillow to block the very accurate tosses.

"You actually should have realized that I was pranking you. I am never late unless I can help it -Woah!" Felix said, ducking under a pillow that missed his head by a few centimeters.

"Since when did you become so accurate when throwing pillows?" Felix questioned.

"Since I got a best friend who's default setting is snark and snobbery." Marinette quipped.

"Touche. Although I would call it manners and wit." Felix said bringing up a pillow, just in time to block another volley of linens.

Sabine took in the face of her daughter and saw that beneath the anger, was a joy that only was brought out when she started playfully arguing with Felix. She turned to Felix next and saw that while he had his bored facade on, his eyes were dancing with life and mirth that was only there because of Marinette. As she watched the two opponents dance around each other exchanging blows and good natured insults, she couldn't help but agree with Nathan and Nino. Watching Felix and Mari was better than any show on television.

Marinette decided to duck under the sofa and slowly snuck over the the other side. Felix rose slowly trying to figure out the reason of the in pronto cease fire. He stood up, fully making his way to the center of the couch.

"Got ya." Marinette said, popping up and grabbing her friend pulling him onto the cushions. Felix tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't budge.

"Now that I have your attention, why is it that you woke me up at 5:00 in the morning?" Marinette questioned her captive. Felix kept silent preferring to say nothing, than to mumbling out an answer. Marinette shook her head and smirked.

"You left me no choice." She said. She locked her legs around Felix's and freeing her hands. She then proceeded to tickle Felix mercilessly. He squirmed and laughed, trying to get away from the surprisingly strong blue haired girl. After a minute of death by tickling, Felix had enough.

"Alright, I will talk. Just stop your fiendish torture, you mad women." Felix said, showing his dramatic side off.

"As you wish of King of the Thespians." Mari teased.

"You, dear Lady of the Thread, do not play fair." Felix volleyed back once he caught his breath.

"Stop stalling, Jack Frost." Marinette said, a laugh threatening to overtake her.

"I wanted to have a P of D." Felix said, letting out a small laugh and sheepish smile.

Marinette's eyes widened at the familiar letters. She smiled gently, her anger fading quickly.

"Well than we should probably get some food, and a king comforter." Marinette proclaimed, hopping off of her friend. She quickly helped her blond friend to his feet.

"No need ." Sabine said. Marinette and Felix turned and saw that Sabine was looking at them, highly amused. Realizing that they were being watched, both turned a bright pink that would make a carnation proud.

"How much...?" Felix began, but trailed off as he realized she saw everything. Now the teens were doing an impression of a rose.

Marinette rested her head on Felix and groaned. Felix buried his head in his friends hair pulling her close. This was not how he expected his morning to go.

Sabine decided to not tease the two feeling that they had been embarrassed enough as it was.

"Well, now that incredibly embarrassing moment is over, let's make sure that this food doesn't go to waste." Felix said once their blushes finally died down. Marinette flashed him a grateful smile. She hurried up stairs to grab a giant blanket.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Mari said pulling the food closer to herself. Felix smiled and began to talk about some of his time in America and Mari talked about her experiences with the superheroes of Paris. They didn't reveal everything, but for them it was enough.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

Nathanael groaned as he hit the snooze button. Why did he set it so early?

"Let get going lazy bones!" Sinn said as she pulled open the blinds. Nathanael squinted and sighed, pealing of his Duvet. Oh that was why.

"You know you are incredibly stubborn." Nathanael grumbled as he put on his clothes.

"I thank you. Besides you were willing to go through with our deal." Sinn said.

"You offering to give more info about your past and all I have to do is get up a bit earlier. Of course I was going to take that deal." Nathanael retorted.

"Alright kid fire away." Sinn said, getting comfortable. Nathanael's head was buzzing but he decide to go with a question that had been bugging him since Sinn had appeared.

"Why is it that Hawk moth is after the miraculouses of Chat Noir and Ladybug?" Nate asked. Sinn sighed, figures he asks a hard question right off the bat.

"It's complicated. There is a secret about the miraculouses of creation and destruction. If the two were ever wielded by the same person it would grant the wearer absolute power. This power however is extremely dangerous and can cause pompeii level of damage if used by the wrong person. I don't know how Hawk Moth stumbled upon this secret or even what his motives are, but I do know that him winning can never be an option." Sinn stated. Nathanael looked at his Kwami in wonder and a bit of resolve. He agreed and vowed to do everything in his power to keep that power away from the madman.

"You... um mentioned earlier that if I ever met Tikki not to piss her off or it would have dire consequences. Can you explain?" Nate asked. Sinn grinned in retaliation. While she didn't like the incident it should give her boy a good scare.

"Me and Plagg can go a little overboard in our rivalry for Tikki's affection." Sinn began. Nathanael gave the fox a look.

"Okay a lot overboard. Back when Persia was thriving Plagg and I took it too far. There was an attack on the city and our chosen ones needed us, but Plagg and I were so focused on fighting that we didn't pay attention to those around us. Our chosens would have been severely hurt if that generations Ladybug hadn't intervened. We were horrified and apologetic, but that wasn't enough for Tikki, so in the next cycle she decided to get back at us." Sinn explained.

"I am not sure whether or not I want to hear this." Nathanael said, whatever punishment that Tikki inflicted must have had a great impact on the other Kwamis.

"Too bad you asked so you are getting your answer. She and her partner played matchmaker and set up that generations Volpina and Chat." Sinn said waiting for her words to sink in and the inevitable explosion.

"WHAT!?" There it is.

"Y-you have to be joking! There is no way that any of the past wielders could ever get together. The feline and canine families should never mix." Nate mumbled to himself.

Sin cackled as Nate kept mumbling to himself all sorts of denials. That was more fun than she thought.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

Gabriella paced in front of her locker as her best friends Mireille and Jean watched on.

"I don't know if I can do this." Gabriella muttered. She played with the ballet charm on her bracelet.

"Are you kidding me? You are the most confident person in our drama club. Of course you can do this." Jean exclaimed.

"Being confident on stage is a lot different than being confident in real life Jay. Besides what if Felix doesn't remember us?" Gabriella asked worriedly. Mireille snorted.

"The Quad was apart of the group and you and I would usually get paired up with whichever boy wasn't with Mare at the time. Felix may be standoffish, but he isn't a snob like Chloe. I bet he will really appreciate the present and the card we got him." Mireille stated.

"Yeah but why did it have to be me who gave it him." Gabby muttered.

"Stop stalling and go to the classroom." Jean ordered. Gabby sighed and nodded. She never was good at fighting against her friends. Gathering her courage she marched to Madame Bustier's classroom. Her friends grinned and followed after. They were looking forward to seeing the quad again especially now that all members were back in action.

She peered through the door and saw that the blonde hadn't come in yet. She sighed and the trio decided to wait at the front desk. A few minutes later they heard footsteps approaching. Gabby looked up and bit back a groan as she took in the sight of Chloe Bourgeois.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe demanded, glaring at the trio before her.

"None of your business Bourgeois." Jean spat out. Chloe fumed how dare this commoner speak to her like that. She glared at the dark haired boy. Looking at the desk she spotted a present and an envelope. Chloe snatched up the card before any of them could act.

"Hey!" Gabriella exclaimed as she tried to get the card back from Chloe.

"What's this?" Chloe asked, not bothering to hear the answer as she opened the envelop.

"Give it back Chloe, it isn't yours." Mireille demanded. By then the other students had started to file in. The watched not sure if they should interfere or not.

Chloe finally got the card out and decided to read it aloud.

"'To Felix the eternal king of Dramatics, we at the drama club are glad that you have entered the production that is our lives once more. We hope to see you on stage in the upcoming play.'Oh how cute, you think that my Feely Weely would want to hang out with the like of you."Chloe mocked. Gabriella felt a haze of anger overcome her.

"Well at least we are better company than a blonde leach." Gabriella spat out. Chloe's classmates began to laugh at the comparison. Chloe fumed and then looked down at the card. She smirked at Gabriella and ripped the card to shreds. She then took the present that was lying on the desk and dropped it.

Gabriella's stomach plummeted. She quieted and picked up the box, positive that the gift was now broken.

"Chloe you're the worst." Gabriella shrieked as she turned and walked away. As she exited the classroom she bumped into the Quad.

"Miss. Gabriella what happened?" Felix asked. Gabriella just burst into tear and took off running.

She could faintly hear her friends calling her to come back, but she was too humiliated to face them right now. She reached the library and found a quiet corner so that she could cry and wallow in self pity.

~ ~ ~ Elsewhere ~ ~ ~

As the window opened the winged creatures scattered and the master of the tower smirked.

"Poor girl, always shoved in the corner when it comes to a spoiled brat. How utterly perfect." The masked man said with a laugh. A butterfly landed in his open palm. He grasped the unsuspecting creature and turned its pure white wings dark.

"Fly away my little Akuma, give her the powers to have all eyes on her." Hawkmoth said, twirling his staff. This should be an interesting day indeed.

~ ~ ~ Back to Gabriella ~ ~ ~

Gabby sniffed and pushed away her tears. She just couldn't believe how bratty Chloe could be. As she was contemplating how to walk away from this, a black and purple butterfly landed on her ballet charm. A butterfly outline apeared around her eyes.

**[My dear Prima, it pains me to see you so tortured. I give you a gift and all I ask is that you give me Chat Noir and Ladybugs Miraculous.]**

A smirk curled on Hawk Moth's latest victim's lips.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." She said as she was engulfed in a cloud of purple and black. When she emerged she was in a dark purple tutu and leotard which was decorated in gold feather designs that were on the skirt and the border. Her hair was turned black and was pulled into a tight bun with a gold tiara on her head that adorned with purple jewels. She wore white tights and a pair of gold ballet pointe shoes. On her face was a gold mask.

"Gabby?" A voice called from behind. Prima turned around to see Jean and Mirielle looking at her in disbelief.

"It seems my first dancers have come to me." Prima said. She raised her hand and fired a blast at both of her friends. They were too close to duck and a light enveloped them as the blast connected. Both teens blinked and saw that there clothes had been transformed. Both were wearing a basic black leotard, white tights and ballet slippers. The only difference was that Mirielle was wearing a purple tulle skirt as well.

"I think S _leeping Beauty_  would be a good start." Prima said with a smile. Jean and Mirielle look at each other confused until they felt, to their horror their bodies beginning to dance against their will.

"Gabby what are you doing?" Mireille shrieked in surprise.

"I am not Gabby anymore. I am Prima and I thinks its about time we gathered more dancers. Afterall three dancers isn't enough to really bring a show together." Prima mused as she directed her forced dancers to follow her out of the library. Anytime she saw a person she made sure to shoot them to add to the growing list of performers.

~ ~ ~ Elsewhere ~ ~ ~

The quad was furious. Rose had come to them and told them about Gabby and what Chloe had done. They were a part of the Drama club for years so they were very upset, but none more so than Felix.

"Bourgeois." Felix growled out as he entered the room.

Chloe quickly engulfed Felix in a hug, but was quickly shoved off and held in place. She looked up at her other blonde hunk confused but quickly her eyes widened and her face paled when she saw his face. He had a stoic mask on as usual but his eyes were like emerald flames. She had only seen him angry like this a handful of times and each time it had been quite frightening.

Whatever is was that Felix was going to say was stopped when a bunch of people came screaming from the library.

"Akuma!"

Nino groaned. He pulled out his phone and brought up the Ladyblog.

"Looks like there wasn't going to be class today." He said as he peaked out the door.

What he saw was a floating purple ballerina who was shooting people and turning them into dancers.

"Alright Ladyblogers, as you can see we are dealing with a new Akuma who apparently is a ballet themed one." He started off, showing a video of her power.

"Hey Nino, can you zoom in on our akuma's wrist, the one that she shoots her victims with?" Mare asked, following a hunch.

"Sure thing dudette." Nino said, zooming in. When the picture was in focus he showed it to Marinette. She took in the picture and looked for a bracelet. She cursed inwardly when she saw it.

"That charm leaves no room for doubt, the victim is Gabriella." she told her friends.

"How can you tell?" Kim asked from behind.

"Simple, a few years ago when I was still in the Drama club I helped pick out and pay for that exact bracelet." along with the other quad members, Mireille, and Jean went unsaid. Nino, Nathanael and Marinette had stopped going to drama after Felix left as it held too many memories. The quad had helped pick out the bracelet a year before Felix left.

"Guys I hate to be a downer, but we need to go now or hide." Nate said from his place beside Nino.

"Bro's right. She is getting closer and we are going to be like sitting ducks, The windows don't open fully, and the door in the front is locked so right now we only have two ways out." Nino said. Marinette straightened up and called on her inner leader.

"Those of you that are going to hide do so now and know that we don't think less of you. Those running half of you go to the back and half to the front. You will run in pairs, one from the front one from the the pairs are gone for 10 seconds the next pair goes, once you are out either keep running or find some place to hide, something tells me that out ballet themed Akuma won't be sticking around long." Marinette called out.

"And why should we listen to you Marinette?" Chloe asked with a glare.

"Um Chloe I don't think-" Sabrina started, but was silenced when Marinette held up her hand.

"No it's alright Sabrina I will answer Chloe. You all elected me class elective and that means that I take charge when the situation demands it. You listened to me during the Darkblade incident and I know I haven't given you a reason the doubt me since. So you can either listen to me or don't either way we stay here any longer and all of us will be dancing pointe." Marinette said firmly. The rest of the class quickly did as Marinette suggested, so Chloe had no reason to not follow which she did grudgingly. She had wanted to insist that she go first, but the combined glare from Felix and Marinette shut her up.

Five people in the classroom beamed in pride as they heard Marinette take charge and show her true self.

"That's our girl." Felix said softly. Nino and Nate nodded. At the two doorways were Nino and Kim ready to take off.

"Now!" Mare shouted and the pair took off.

Nino went to the entrance of the School, narrowly missing the gaze of the Akuma. He didn't doubt that Mare was right and that the Akuma would be moving on.

Back in the class it was down to Mare and Nathaniel. Both teens wanted to be alone so they could transform.

"You ready to move Robin?" Marinette asked her friend.

"But of course Swan." Nathan answered back. The two got into position and but only Marinette left.

Nathaniel sighed and opened up his jacket.

"Smooth moves kid, you are an awesome fox already." Sinn said impressed by his sneakiness.

"Thanks. Sinn show time!" Nate said and was soon clothed in his costume. He quickly created an illusion of his civilian self and sent it running to the library. It was time for Volpin to take the stage.

Marinette was able to duck into another empty classroom. She looked around before unclasping her purse.

"Tikki spots on!" Marinette shouted as she became decked in red and black. She decided to check for any stragglers and help them out if she could. She also needed to learn a bit more about her newest enemy before she did anything brash. Unfortunately for the heroine of Paris this wasn't so simple as when she left the classroom she caught the eye of Prima.

"Ladybug how lovely for you to come." the Akuma sneered.

"You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, yet I don't know yours." Ladybug said twirling her yoyo, but keeping at a distance. The akuma was surrounded by civilians and if she wasn't careful she could end up hurting them in the oncoming fight.

"Where are my manners? You may call me Prima, afterall two leading ladies should be on good terms." The newly identified Prima said with a smile. She entered into grand plie and then rose onto her toes with a flourish of her hand.

Okay that responds honestly threw Mari for a loop. It wasn't often that an akuma was so accepting of a hero. Usually they went straight to demanding they give up their miraculous or attacking them.

"You are being surprisingly nice to someone who is going to defeat you." Ladybug said after shaking off her surprise. Prima just smiled and looked at LB like she knew something that the hero didn't.

"Ladybug you aren't going to interfere in my plans, at least not yet anyways." Prima said with confidence.

"Oh yeah and why is that?" Ladybug said, not impressed by her opponents bravado.

"Simple I control the movement of anyone I hit with my ballet blast." Prima said. To prove her point she had all of the female victims do a plie and the males a arabesque. Ladybugs eyes widened and narrowed as she understood the implications of Prima's power. If an attack was directed at her, Prima would just use a victim to take the hit.

"You are a coward Prima." Ladybug spit out. Volpin, having arrived incognito via hood, agreed with his teammates assessment. It was a cowardly move. Prima just laughed.

"Darling I am a performer. I don't like my time on the stage cut short. Now I am going to give you two options. You can let me go thus giving me a head start, or I make half of my performers dance onto the freeway." Prima said with a smirk. Ladybug and Volpin eyes both widened in horror.

"Or you could just surrender now." Prima said, as if she hadn't bargained the lives of a dozen civilians.

"Not happening." Ladybug bit out. Prima simply shrugged.

"Worth a shot. Now to be fair and because I do so love a grand finale, I will see you again at the Louvre in exactly 30 minutes." Prima offered.

"Why?" Ladybug said, suspicious of her motives.

"Unfortunately I must compare myself to the vulgar Volpina in one aspect. I crave a grand performance and what's a performance without its leading ladies and their audience." Prima said.

Before Ladybug could comment further the opening line of "Canterella" cut through the air. Felix cursed his luck and tried to silence his phone but he had already been spotted. Marinette worried about her friend but something else had her notice.

Prima was dancing and, if LB wasn't mistaken it was the same dance from "Canterella: Grace Edition". Ladybug smiled in relief. So it seemed that the Akuma did have a weakness in that she was forced to dance as well when she heard music.

Volpin couldn't help but feel that something bad was going to happen so he kept alert. Then he saw Prima's face and how angry she was about having her weakness exposed.

"How dare you!" Prima screamed, aiming a blast at Felix. Ladybug eyes widened and cursed her luck at not being closer.

Felix closed his eyes and waited for the change to overtake him, but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw Volpin crouched in front of him.

"Oh well this is a sweet surprise. I was aiming for a nuisance and instead I got a prize." Prima said, clapping as she watched Volpin's outfit change. He had orange military style jacket and wore whites pants and black boots both which were ballet styled. He still retained his mask, ears, gloves, and to his ire tail. When he saw the outfit he groaned.

"Alec!" Ladybug shouted, worried about her partner.

"I am fine Cap, I just haven't had to wear such a flamboyant costume since I played Robin Good-fellow." He grumbled. Ladybug let out a relieved sigh, she was glad that her teammate was able to still joke.

"Ooh a drama enthusiast. I do appreciate a man who can take the stage. Now let's see if you can move like a ballerino." Prima said, she then silently made him go through an old dance routine of hers. She was pleasantly surprised that he moved without much struggle. Her powers gave her performers basic instruction on how to do ballet, but it didn't make them experts. The way Volpin moved showed her that he had training in dance.

Ladybug watched with horror at the fact that Volpin was forced to move against his will.

"Prima release my partner!" Ladybug demanded.

"Now why would I do that. I now have a perfect pas de deux partner and a great insurance policy." Prima taunted as she commanded Volpin to move to her side.

"Oh joy now I get to deal with a diva." Volpin said. Prima just smiled.

"You're cute when you are sarcastic." Prima said. Volpin looked at her and just shook his head. Truth was that Primas commands weren't absolute and he could resist if he wanted to, but thought better of it.

"Now Ladybug I suggest that you let us go, but don't worry I will see you at our faceoff." Prima said confidently. Ladybug felt helpless and looked to her partner. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Fine." Ladybug gritted.

"Excellent. Until then Ladybug." Prima said and then waved her hand and let out a bright light. When Ladybug opened her eyes she saw that all of the civilians, Volpin, and Prima were all gone. Ladybug cursed as she realized that Prima could have escaped at anytime and only stuck around to make sure that she had Ladybugs compliance.

Felix looked at the heroine of Paris and started walking forward.

"Dude what are you doing?!" Nino said and quickly closed out of the Ladyblog, keeping his friends identity secret, and followed after him.

"I want to help take Prima down." Felix demanded. Ladybug looked at her friend with a blank mask.

"Not happening. Prima is already gunning for you…" She trailed off knowing that Ladybug wasn't supposed to know who Felix was.

"Felix Bastille, and that is exactly why I want to help. Volpin allowed himself to be controlled to keep me safe. I owe it to him to make sure that Prima goes down. I can play the Violin and give you enough time to take her down." Felix said determined. Marinette was torn with being proud of her friends resolve or frustrated at his lack of self preservation.

"Look Bastille I respect your conviction, but I can't risk a civilian being hurt and I willingly letting it happen." Ladybug said. Before Felix could argue further Ladybug swung away.

Felix looked out where the Lucky bug of Paris swung off. Nino watched his friend and sighed.

"You are going to try to stop her." Nino said as if stating a fact.

"Yep."

"Even though it could get you hurt."

"It's a possibility."

Nino sighed and shook his head.

"What do you have in mind?" Nino asked. Felix turned and gave a mischievous grin that made Nino already regret asking.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

"Do you realize how insane your plan is?" Nino asked. Felix simply ignored his friend and looked over the equipment once more. As soon as he explained his plan to Nino he called his father's assistant. The woman didn't hesitate when he asked for speakers, a cd player, a microphone, a cd of his playing and a portable generator be delivered to the Louvre. All she did was ask if he had a preferences on the brand.

"When you do things like this it is hard to forget that you are rich." Nino muttered.

"And about to get richer." Felix muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Nino asked darting his head up from the speaker he was salivating over.

"Nothing." Felix said quickly. Nino gave his friend a look.

"I will tell you on Saturday." Nino stared at his friend for a little bit but then sighed and nodded. His friend would tell the group when he was ready. They didn't say anything after that as they knew that Prima was due any minute. When Nino saw Ladybug on top of the building he knew that it was time to start recording.

"Hey all you Ladybloggers this is DJ Nino coming to you live with Prima part two." Nino said keeping the camera on Ladybug and the determined look on her face.

"As you can see or spotted hero is here and ready for the grand finale with Prima." Just as Nion finished talking a bright flash appeared. When it dimmed Nino had his phone trained on Prima who had created a platform and stood center stage with Volpin, who didn't look very happy.

"Ladybug so glad you could join us." Prima called with a smile. Before she could say anything else, music began to play. If Marinette had to guess it was Chopin Nocturne, a personal favorite of Felix's to play. Her eyes widened as she scanned the plaza and resisted the urge to groan when she finally found the source of the music. Of course Felix would ignore her and instead go through with his insane plan. She also spotted Nino who was obviously played enabler to their stubborn best friend. Ladybug began to move when she saw that Prima, though dancing against her will, had spotted the boys.

Felix had covering but Nino, who had moved to get a better shot, didn't. The spotted hero quickly grabbed Nino and placed him safely on the roof where the fight could still be scene.

"Did you not hear me when I said to stay out of this?" Ladybug asked sarcastically.

"No you were very clear on that, I just saw it more as a suggestion." Nino said, not quite believing he was giving sass to Ladybug.

Marinette gave her friend a light glare but then sighed.

"I don't suppose you will take my suggestion and leave?"Ladybug said already knowing the answer.

"Are you kidding me? Alya will kill me if I don't shoot this." Nino retorted. Ladybug shook her head and sighed. She glanced down at the fight. Prima had already destroyed the cd player so she was free to blast away, but Felix was able to dodge the shots mostly due to being at enough of a distance.

"I am going back down there to save your co-conspirator. He won't be able to keep up dodging for much longer so I really can't force you to leave." Ladybug stated, she was just glad that it was to far away for Felix to be clearly made out. She through her yoyo and quickly scooped up Felix, but before she could get to the roof again a blast knocked her off balance. The two teens tumbled onto the hard ground. They looked up and saw an enraged Prima standing there panting. Just as she was about to blast them again, a force batted her arm away, thus making her miss.

It was Volpin.

"I don't understand, you are supposed to be under my control." Prima said, her focus now shifted onto Volpin.

"I have two theories on that. The first is that due to my background in dance it is easier to control my motions." Volin said as he began to fight and dance at the same time. Prima dodged and began to blast him, but it did nothing. Her blast were destructive, but only if she didn't hit a person. Since Volpin was already hit, the attack did nothing to him.

"What's the second theory?" Prima asked. Volpin smirked.

"I am a fox, my dear dancer. We are good at getting out of trick situations." Volpin said as he swiped at the akumatized villain.

Ladybug smiled as she watched her partner fight. She heard his reasoning and was more inclined to believe the second and was kind of amazed. Maybe Volpin miraculous wasn't as powerful as her's or Chat's, but it made up for it in versatility. Speaking of Miraculousness, it was time to use hers.

"Lucky Charm!" She shouted. When the polka dots supsided Mare couldn't help but feel the urge to facepalm. She was given a Violin. She activated her luck vision and saw the plan unfold. If Felix could turn on the microphone and start playing then it would give Volpin the chance to get her bracelet and then the dancers would take care of the rest.

"Bastille, you said you wanted to help, right?" Ladybug asked. Felix straightened up and brushed the dirt off of him.

"Of course I do." Felix said.

"I don't have much time before I revert to my civilian identity. Sp over to your speaker and once the microphone is adjusted start playing." LAdybug quickly explained. Felix having already learned the basics on Ladybug and her "Lucky vision" knew to just do as she said.

"Understood." Felix said with a nod as he accepted the ladybug themed violin and bow. Soon he was in position and began to play. Feeling playful he began to play a favorite of his pig-tailed friends.

Ladybug nearly burst out laughing as the melody of Waltz of the Flower filled the air.

"Volpin the akuma is in her bracelet!" She shouted, once she saw that Prima was spellbound. Volpin quickly grabbed the said bracelet and tossed it at his teammate. She through it at the performers and felt glee as it was smashed underfoot. Soon a familiar purple and black bug began flapping its wings.

No more evil doing for you little to de-evilize!" She said as she spun her yoyo.

"Gotcha!" She shouted as the Akuma was taken into her yo-yo. She pushed a button and a now white butterfly emerged.

"Bye, bye little butterfly." She said and then walked over to Felix and he wordlessly gave her the violin.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She watched as the red and black spots engulfed all of the effected civilians and changed their clothing back, including Volpin.

"Nice playing." Ladybug complimented.

"Thank you." Felix said, nodding at her. They watched as Gabriella was revealed once the purple and black cloud disappeared.

"Huh? What?" Gabriella asked confused, Her eyes widened once she noticed that Ladybug was standing by her. Felix then walked over to the brunette, pausing to pick up something from the ground. He made his over to her, crouching as he returned her bracelet.

"Good to see you again Ms. Gabriella." Felix said, flashing her a small smile.

Ladybug walked over to Volpin. They did their V and laughed.

Beep Beep Beep came the sound of Ladybug's earrings.

"I got to go. You did good out there." Ladybug said, turning to leave but then remembered something.

"Hey Alec, could you do me a favor?"

"Whats up Cap?"

"Can you get the boy-"

"Nino." Felix piped in.

"Thank, Nino off the roof?" ladybug asked. Volpin laughed and nodded, watching as Ladybug took off. He then floated up to the roof.

"I was sent to help you down." Volpin said when he saw Nino's questioning looks. Nino nodded and closed out of the Ladyblog.

"Thanks dude." Nino said as he grabbed on to the Fox hero. Volpin floated them down to Felix and let go.

"Well I think it's about time I split. Later!" Volpin said as he flipped up his hood and disappeared.

"I got to say that was a very interesting way to reunite with a friend." Felix drawled. Gabriella turned red and groaned.

"Gabby!" Mireille said, before engulfing her friend in a firm hug. Jean trailed behind. The boys decided to leave the trio to talk amongst themselves.

"Felix Bastillie!" A voice shouted. Nino and Felix turned and saw a angry Marinette walking towards them.

"I was at a cafe waiting for news and I when I checked the Ladyblog what do I find but the figure of my best friend dodging a villain's attacks!" Marinette ranted. Before Felix could say anything she wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I just got you back. Don't go do anything too reckless." Marinette murmured. Felix hugged her back.

"I promise I will try." Felix said.

"Good enough." Marinette said with smile and ended the hug. Nino shook his head. He was glad that everyone was okay.

~ ~ ~ Elsewhere ~ ~ ~

~Outside of Paris- Adrien's Shoot~

The blonde hero of Paris sighed in relief that his partner was safe. He cursed his luck about being stuck at the shoot. He was just glad that it was done so he could watch the live Ladyblog stream uninterrupted. He sighed in frustration. As much as he hated to admit it he now owed Volpin twice over for keeping his friends safe.

'"Adrien." Natalie called looking frustrated.

"What is it Natalie?" Adrien asked concerned. He really didn't want to be here any longer.

"I just got a call from the shoot that happens tomorrow. Apparently their flight is delayed so they moved it to Sunday." Natalie said with irritation clear in her voice.

"Really?" Adrien asked feeling like he could sing.

"Yes we are leaving tomorrow and will drop you off in the morning at school." Natalie said with a thin smile. She knew how much being able to go to school with his friends meant to her boss's son. Even if it meant a stressful weekend Natalie knew that Adrian wanted to go to school no matter what.

"Thanks Natalie." Adrien said before going to get his things. On the way back to hotel he watched the video again. He wondered who the civilian was that helped out his Lady. As he listened to the tune, he couldn't help but feel like he had heard this playing before. Adria shook his head. The only one person he knew personally that played violin was his cousin, Felix , and it wasn't possible for it to be his cousin. Afterall his Aunt and Uncle were still in New York last time he checked.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

~After the attack- Alya's hotel~

"Are you kidding me?! Another akuma attack and I missed it!" Alya said as she paced in her room. They had just gotten back from their last assignment of the day when she got the ladybug notification. Wren smiled and shook her head.

"I am sorry that we missed it." Wren said knowing that missing another event was really getting on her charges nerves. Alya sighed and gave her mentor a tired smile.

"It's fine and besides it is not your fault that I missed it." Alya said. Wren frowned and thought.

"I'll tell you what why don't we head back early." Wren proposed.

"What, you serious?" Alya asked.

"We already have what we need and I can tell that you are getting really distracted by what's going on in Paris and a distracted reporter is a sloppy one so we head back."

"Thank you!" Alya exclaimed, hugging the woman. Wren chuckled and gave the teen a quick squeeze.

"You are welcome, now let's watch the latest attack shall we?" Wren gestured to the computer. Soon they were immersed in the latest heroics of got to the point where Nino is saved by Volpin and taken to the roof.

"Alya will kill me if I don't shoot this!" a voice exclaimed on the video.

"I wouldn't!" Alya protested.

"Yes you would." Wren said as she looked at her assistant.

Alya looked at the older reporter hurt by her words.

"Alya I am not going to apologize. The truth is that you put safety second whenever it comes to an akuma attack. It was clear to me since the Pharaoh incident where you insisted on rolling through the entire attack. How is Nino going to think any differently when you are constantly running head first into danger." Wren explained. Alya huffed and looked away.

They were quiet for the rest of the video. After that they packed up and went to check out. Alya refused to sit up front and was instead frowning with her arms crossed in the back of her car.

Wren sighed and shook her head. Alya was a good reporter and had the instincts to become a first class one, however she took too many risks and didn't always see the consequences of her actions and the impact on those around her. If she didn't learn soon it was going to bite her in the ass.

~ ~ ~Time Skip ~ ~ ~

~Marinette's room- Paris~

Marinette flopped onto her bed with a groan.

"What a day." She said with a sigh. Tikki giggled and settled herself on her chosen's knees.

"I'll say. I don't know what was more exciting. That you fought an Akuma or that you were up early!" Tikki said with a giggle. Marinette gave her Kwami a look of mock affronted look.

"Don't remind me, I am still miffed at Felix." Marinette said with a huff. She wanted to get back at her friend for pranking her. Suddenly an idea came to her. She reached for her phone and dialed her classmate.

{"Hello?"} came a girl's voice.

"Hey Alix, how do you feel about pranking Felix?" Marinette asked.

{"What do you have in mind?"} Alix asked, her voice filled with excitement. Marinette smirked and filled Alix in on the plan. Tomorrow was going to be a very fun day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabriella is based on the dark haired girl in the pink blouse from last years class photo. The other two characters are ones you already know.
> 
> I love the song Canterella and the grace edition video is gorgeous.
> 
> Seems like Felix is hiding something. But he isn't the only one ;-). I know his demand is a bit out there but this is my story and that is the way I want it to go. Sorry if the fight scene is a bit lacking.
> 
> I don't own the songs I mentioned and I mostly chose them at random.
> 
> I couldn't resist. As I have stated in my universe Felix is Adrien's cousin on his mother's side. Their mothers were identical twins which is why they look similar but slightly different.
> 
> I am sorry for all the Alya lovers out there, but I do see a major problem with Alya and her need to record the attacks. I love her as a character but in this aspect I find her too reckless.
> 
> Looks like Marinette is looking for revenge. Some know what I am planning, the rest will just have to wait and see.
> 
> Thank you to all who left reviews or kuddos, and decided to bookmark/favorite/follow my story. It means so much that I have your support.


	17. Pranks, Returns, and Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my storyline and original characters.
> 
> On with the show!

* * *

 

Nino was humming as he got ready for school. This was by far the best. There were superheroes and villains, he was directing, he had a great girlfriend, a new best friend and best of all, his three best friends back in his life.

" _Come Fly with me (Oh–oh, Oh-oh)_

_Into a Fantasy (Oh-oh, Oh-oh)_

_Where you can be_

_Whoever you want to be_

_Come fly with me"_

Speaking of best friends, Nino gave a half smile as he answered his phone.

"Hey Swan, what's up?" Nino asked, already sure of what Mare had called about.

{"Have you made the preparations for the prank?"} Mare asked. Nino inwardly air punched that his guess was right, before composing himself. After Alix and Marinette had outlined the plan they girls texted the rest of the class.

"Yep, I am all set for your prank, dudette. How did you come up with it by the way?" Nino asked. When Mare had called him up about her prank it reminded Nino just how clever and devious Mare could get. The prank was simple, but it was guaranteed to get a reaction from Felix.

{"Let's just say that I took a page from Felix's book and made sure to keep my word."} Mare replied with a laugh. Nino shook his head. Those two always enjoyed making the other eat their words.

"Marin I mean this in the kindest, non offensive, way possible. You are one terrifying lady when you set your mind to it." Nino said, praying that she wouldn't turn her ire on him. He relaxed when he heard her giggle.

{"Relax Sebastian, I take that as a complement. Anyway I will see you at school. Aloha!"} Mare said.

"Aloha." Nino said in reply as he ended the call. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Life was pretty amazing right now, and though it was selfish, he was glad that Alya and Adrien didn't know about Felix and the rest of the quad. He wouldn't have to deal with that fall out until after this weekend. Nino then felt a shiver down his back. Why did he feel that he just jinxed it?

~ ~ ~ Meanwhile ~ ~ ~

Alya sneezed and then looked around. She wasn't feeling sick so where the heck did that come from?

"Bless you." Came a familiar voice. Alya turned around and saw, to her surprise, her model classmate smiling at her.

"Adrien! I thought you weren't going to be back in Paris until Monday?" Alya asked as she gave her friend a quick hug.

"The shoot got moved to Sunday due to a flight delay so Natalie said I could go to school and catch up with my friends." Adrien explained once they had finished hugging.

"That's awesome, well not about giving up your Sunday, but that you got to come back early." Alya said.

"Thanks. So what are you doing back?" Adrien asked.

"How did you-"

"Nino told me. Congratulations by the way." Adrien cut her off as he knew exactly what she was going to ask.

"Thanks. Wren had us come back early as she knew that I was anxious to start investigating not only the cities newest hero, but the two akuma attacks and the rumoured fight on the arc." Alya said. Adrien inwardly frowned.

"Well at least we can expect school to be relatively normal. While a lot can happen in a short amount of time, two weeks isn't enough time for things at school to change drastically." Adrien said.

"You're right about that." Alya replied with a laugh. Honestly she was looking forward to something normal after almost two weeks of travel.

While we're on the topic, do you want a ride to school?" Adrian questioned, rubbing the back of his head. It was the first time that he ever had the chance to ask a friend that and it made him feel really happy. Alya graced the shy blonde with a smile. Alya had spent the night at Wren's apartment and decided to walk to school from there, it was lucky that along the route she passed Adrien's house.

"Only if we can get breakfast first, we didn't get in until late." Alya said climbing into the back.

"Natalie made us leave the hotel before they started serving and because of traffic we only had time to drop the luggage off so picking up something to eat so that sounds fine to me."

"You haven't even been home yet?" Alya asked. Adrien just shrugged.

"Not like anything has changed." Adrien replied before telling Gorilla to go to the nearest bakery.

 ~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

Alya blinked but the image didn't change. The school was the same, the classroom as well but what greeted the two friends was an image that baffled them.

The class was cheering and laughing as a classmate chased another around the room. This wasn't uncommon as the class often did this when Kim upset Alix or the other way around. The sight of Chloe off to the side scowling along with Sabrina was also not out of the realm of possibility. No what completely astounded the teens wasn't what was going on, but who was involved.

"Go Marinette!"Kim shouted.

"Be careful!" Cried Rose.

"Show him what a girl can do!" Came the voice of Alix.

The blogger could only watch in fascination as her friend laughed as she was chased around the classroom, showing off her hidden reflexes, including using a desk as a springboard and doing a flip through the air.. Marinette often cheered on her classmates but, with a few big exceptions, usually prefered to remain out of the limelight. While her friends participation was startling, the real attention catcher was who was chasing the designer: a boy that looked nearly identical to the boy standing next to her with his jaw dropped.

~ ~ ~ Flashback ~ ~ ~

Felix was pleasantly surprised that when he walking into the bakery his friends were already there waiting for him.

"Have something to say or is the cat holding his own tongue?" Marinette quipped once she saw her friend standing in the doorway. To anyone else outside of a select few, if would look like Felix hadn't even reacted, but to her it was clear as day that Felix was surprised.

"No just taking in a sight rarer than a blue moon. My best friend ready without any help." Felix volleyed back easily. The quad let out a laugh and after grabbing snacks decided to just head to school.

Marinette watched inwardly cackling over the fact that Felix had no idea what was going to happen. Revenge, while messy was very sweet. Once they were on school grounds Marinette sent a text to everyone involved to be ready. Nino got his camera out and started to film.

" _I'm like a chee-chee-chee-chee-rony like they make at home_

_Or a healthy fish with a big backbone_

_I'm Abraham De Lacy_

_Guiseppe Casey_

_Thomas O'Malley_

_O'Malley the alley cat"_

Felix stilled as he heard a familiar tune starting to play, but otherwise ignored it as best he could. Marinette smiled and sent off the next text.

" _Gotta strut them city streets_

_Showin' off my eclat, yeah_

_Tellin' my friends of the social elite_

_Or some cute cat I happen to meet"_

Now Felix could feel his eye as it twitched in response to a song that he abhorred outside of watching it during a film. Nino and Nathanael shared a smile. All of the classmates involved had asked for a copy of the prank and were willing to pay.

" _I'm king of the highway_

_Prince of the boulevard_

_Duke of the avant-garde_

_The world is my backyard_

_So if you're goin' my way_

_That's the road you wanna seek"_

Felix grumbled under his breath. That was the third ringtone he heard that was related to that damn song and he was reaching his limit. He sighed in relief when they entered the classroom at least now he would be less likely to hear that song. Marinette tugged at her ear signaling Rose to start humming the song. Causing Felix to start rubbing his temples, a reaction that normally took a lot more to cause.

" _I only got myself_

_And this big old world_

_But I sip that cup of life_

_With my fingers curled"_

Felix decided to screw his normal aloof facade as he buried his head in his arms and softly banged his head against the desk. Chloe entered and made her way over to Felix, hopping that he had gotten over his silly anger, but stopped dead in her tracks when Felix lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. He didn't have to open his mouth or even give a full glare, the annoyance was clear and it told Chloe that if she bothered him it would have drastic consequences. Normally Chloe wasn't one to heed these warnings, but Felix wasn't normally one to openly show his emotions, so instead the Mayor's daughter merely headed to her seat.

Alix looked at Marinette and smiled. When Marinette called her last night about asking for help with her prank, Alix was sceptical that it would cause any reaction from the stone faced Felix, yet watching Chloe scamper away with her tail between her legs Alix knew that Marinette had crafted an absolutely brilliant prank. The two girls locked eyes and Alix watched as Marinette pulled out her phone to initialize the final part of the prank.

" _Abraham De Lacy_

_Guiseppe Casey_

_Thomas O'Malley_

_O'Malley the alley cat"_

Felix growled as the tone came from various phones throughout the classroom. He wanted to scream blood murder. He pushed up from his seat, knowing that is he didn't calm down than he would be arrested for murdering a fellow student.

"Why the hell did it have to be that song?" Felix muttered. The thought made him freeze as the cogs began to whirl. Marinette smiled as she knew that he had figured it out. The formally dressed blonde whirled, his eye slits as they settled on his smirking best friend.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Felix grounded out. Mare's smirk just widened.

"I kept my promise and changed my ringtone. You never said that I couldn't encourage others to use it instead." Mari stated as if talking about the weather.

Felix closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to keep calm, but at this point it was near impossible. Finally he told himself to hell with decorum, it would be worth it.

"SWAAAAAN!" Felix roared as he lunged at the bluenette. She squealed and began to run, laughing as she did. It was worth it.

"Come on O'Malley. I know you are faster than that." Mare taunted over her shoulder. Felix didn't appreciate the insult so he decide to use a nickname that annoyed Marinette as much as O'Malley annoyed him.

"Save your breath while you can," Felix let out a cheshire smile as he added the dreaded nickname, "Nutty Nettie."

If it had been any other situation Mare would have stopped to deck him, but as he was chasing her, it seemed ill advised. Felix knew that being called that annoyed the hell out of Mare, so she took pride in the fact that she annoyed him enough that he actually used it, even if it was dampened the that stupid freaking name.

Nate moved next to Nino as he watched his two friends run around the classroom and the classmates cheering them on. Nino was filming the entire thing with a mega watt smile.

"I have said it a hundred times over but it still remains true." Nathanael started. The two friends shared a grin as they uttered a familiar line together.

"This is better than TV!"

~ ~ ~End Flashback ~ ~ ~

Adrien knew that his mouth was open, but couldn't summon any reason to care. At least not when he was watching Marinette, the girl who only recently had become less nervous around him, was being chased by Felix, his cousin.

The cousin who gave his father a run for most stoic, the son of his mother's twin sister who he used to do twin switches with when he was younger, the one who was so often buried in a book or in his violin lessons the one that had an iron control of his emotions was here.

"You are a dead women when I get my hands on you Swan." Felix growled.

"You have to actually catch me first Bagheera." Marinette replied.

His cousin who was apparently knew Marinette, and who brought out a side of her that he rarely saw when not Chat Noir.

"You are seeing this too, right?" Alya asked.

"If you mean that I am seeing Marinette being chased by my normally aloof cousin while trading barbs than yes." Felix replied. Alya turned to him.

"That's your  _cousin_?!" She asks in disbelief. No one had heard her thankfully over the cheers of the rest of the class

"Our mom's were identical twins." Adrien explained. Alya nodded too engrossed by what was going on to delve further than that.

Felix pulled an extra burst of speed and caught Marinette by the arm. However, she hadn't been expecting the extra weight so she started to tumble and brought Felix with her. The two eventually stopped and looked up to see the gawking faces of Alya and Adrien.

Marinette wasn't sure if it was the adrenalin rush, the fact that she had reconnected with Nino and Nathanael,that she successfully pulled off her prank, or that she got her oldest, closest, and dearest back in her life, maybe a mixture of all four, but seeing her best girl friend and the person she was interested in she couldn't find a reason to be nervous. She instead just decided to don a grin and say what was on her mind.

"You two are back early. I hope you enjoyed the rare treat of the lord of stoicness losing his cool." Marinette said with a grin. Felix took in the looks of shock on his cousin's and the girl that had to be Alya's face and started chuckling. Marinette turned her head and smiled.

"Forgive me?" she asked. Adrien watched in fascination as Felix's grey green eyes warmed as he looked at the girl next to him.

"Only if you make your M&M cookies, chicken salad, and homemade fruited iced tea for movie night tomorrow." Felix drawled, his mask already slipping into place. Marinette laughed.

"You have got yourself a deal White Rabbit." Marinette said, extending her hand. Felix smiled and shook the outstretched hand.

"Pleasure doing buisness with you dear Alice." Felix replied.

"You two can never do things normally, can you?" Nathanael said, walking over to his downed friends with Nino. The two offered their hands to them, Nino to Marinette and Nathan to Felix.

"Normalcy is overrated." They said in sync, flashing smirks at their friend. Nathanael rolled his eyes and Nino chuckled at the response.

Alya and Adrian could only look at one another flabbergasted. What the hell was going on?

"Alright class settle down and take your seats. Marinette, Felix it seems that you had an interesting morning." Madame Bustier said, making her presence known.

"You could say that." Marinette said as she slid into her seat.

"It was eventful." Felix drawled as he moved to the table behind Marinette and sat directly behind her. Nathanael soon joined her.

Madame Bustier smiled at the pair of teens. They may have only been reunited for a short while but their bond ran deep, and was something she greatly admired.

"Welcome back bro." Nino said, giving Adrian a fist bump.

"Thanks." Adrien replied softly. It seem that it wasn't just his superhero life that changed while he was gone.

"I am glad that you are back Alya." Marinette said, giving her friend a hug.

"Thanks girl, but I gotta know what the hell has happened since I left?" Alya questioned, her curiosity itching.

"We'll explain at lunch." Marinette assured her friend with an easy smile. Alya couldn't wait to hear the story of how her boy friend, best friend, and apparently Nathanael knew Adrien's cousin.

~ ~ ~Time Skip ~ ~ ~

Alya could have cried tears of joy when she heard the bell finally ring. Mare shook her head as the blogger began bouncing in her seat.

"So what do you want to know first?" Marinette asked.

"What the hell was going on this morning?" Alya blurted out. Adrien perked up also curious what had caused such a passionate reaction from his cousin. Nino and Nate grinned and decided to take this question.

"Marinette here for whatever reason was mad at Felix…" Nino started.

"So she decided that she was going to prank him." Nathanael finished. They paused so that the words could sink in and they could properly react.

"You/Marinette pulled a prank?!" Adrien and Alya exclaimed, eyes darting between Mari and the two narrators.

"Yep and it was a good one too." Nate said laughing.

"Feels hates the song "Thomas O'Malley the alley cat" outside of watching the movie and also hates the name O'Malley." Nathanael said after calming down.

"So being the brilliant and terrifying girl that she is, Mare arranged for our fellow conspirators-" Nino started.

"To all change their ringtones to different verses of the song-" Nathan continued.

"Which ended with a five phones blaring out the last verse." Nino finished. The returning friends were now a bit dizzy from the twin talk.

"First off, girl where have you been hiding this deviousness, Second why the hell are you two twin talking?" Alya inquired, pointing at the artist and the DJ.

"I always had this side to me, I just haven't used it in a while. As four the twin talk, Nino and Nate enjoy doing it because it confuses people." Marinette answered. Adrien looked at Marinette and felt a little lost. Before today he would have never guessed that his princess even could have a side like that.

"Another thing, how the hell do you know Adrien's cousin?" Alya asked, thrown off by the closeness exhibited by the four, that to her came out of nowhere.

"Adrien's cousin?" Marinette, Nino, and Nathanael asked in unison, looking at the others in confusion. Felix took this as his cue to start moving to the door. Seems that he was going to be playing the part of cat and mouse.

"You didn't know that Felix was my cousin?" Adrien questioned. The three teens eyes widened as the shot to the other blonde. He simply shrugged.

"You never asked, although it does explain why we look alike. Our mothers were identical twins so in actuality Adrien and I can be considered half siblings. After all identical twins share nearly all of their DNA so their offspring share the same amount of DNA as half siblings due." Felix stated.

One of the Quad stood up and started to chase the cat like teen. Cursing him all the while.

"Huh." Nino said.

"That is usually my job." Marinette mused, watching as Hiccup started shouting at Felix.

"True, but Nate was ranting earlier about how frustrating that the two could look so alike. Now I know why Felix was smirking." Nino murmured.

"True." Marinette said with a shrug. Honestly she could see why Felix would hide it. It was a perfect opportunity to troll.

"We should probably follow them, to make sure that Hiccup doesn't kill Bagheera, Swan." Nino suggested.

"Good idea Sebastian." Marinette complemented, following after her boys.

"Wait! I have more questions to ask!" Alya shouted.

"How did you get so close in such a short amount of time? And when did Felix move back to Paris?" Adrien questioned.

"Felix transferred in on Tuesday during the first week you were gone." A voice called. The teens turned and saw Kim smirking at them, alongside Alix and Max.

"Well that answers one question, but not how they became so close." Adrien stated.

"Adrien I think that you have missed a key possibility on why those four exhibit such a strong bond." Max chimed in.

"And that is?" Alya asked impatiently.

"You two are thick. The Quad knew eachother before Felix left Paris two years ago." Alix bluntly stated with an eye roll.

"What?" Adrien asked, not comprehending that his aloof cousin was friends with his group before Adrian came to this school. He knew that Felix had went to school but not where. He always figured that Felix would insist on going to a private school. His dad wouldn't allow Adrien to visit Felix outside of going to his manor or Felix coming over. His mom had tried to talk to his dad but it was one of the few arguments she would lose.

"What did you call them?" Alya asked.

"You heard me. Those four have been nearly inseparable since they met. Most everyone who knows them calls their group the quad. I am not sure who coined it, but it fits and stuck." Alix said with a shrug.

"And how long have they know each other?" Alya inquired.

"They have know each other since they were 5 years old." Max answered.

"They've known each other for 10 years?" Adrien asked incredulously.

"Yep and Flicker and Maripoza have known each other even longer." Kim cheerfully stated.

"What's with the nicknames?" Alya asked.

"Felix and Marinette used to do gymnastics for a couple of years. Felix always liked flying through the air and Mare was really graceful so the names stuck especially as they weren't that far off from their own names."Max informed his classmates.

"I'm sorry Marinette the girl who has trouble not walking into a wall is a former gymnast?" Alya was incredibly sceptic.

"She still goes to the gym occasionally to practice her moves. She may be accident prone of the mats, but on them she is a star." Alix said.

"That also includes Judo mats." Kim grimaced. That girl was tiny but she was one hell of a fighter.

"She took Judo." Adrien parroted.

"Oh yeah, all of them did. They kept at it for a few years. I don't know if any of them continued but I know that each is a black belt." Kim informed them.

"Know any other activities that they took part in?" Alya asked.

"Nino plays the trumpet, and cello, alongside the turntables. Felix plays the violin. I am not sure if Mare or Nathan play any instruments but it wouldn't shock me. They used to do Drama and Felix's parents arranged for the quad to have dance lessons." Max rattled off.

"Wait they all took dance lessons?" Alya questioned. While it wasn't hard to picture Marinette or Nathanael doing those classes with Felix, it was hard to picture Nino.

"I am still stuck on the fact that Felix acted." Adrien said a bit dazed.

"He wasn't just an actor, he was the king of the stage." A voice called. Gabriella stood in the doorway looking amused.

"Informing these two of the exploit of the quad?" Gabriella asked as she walked in.

"Hey Gabby. They were curious and the quad.."

"I saw. Usually it's Marinette who is leading the chase." Gabby said offhandedly.

"What's this about my cousin being a king?" Adrien asked trying to get back on topic.

"Felix is a fantastic actor and kind of strong armed his friends into doing it with him, if you can believe it. The stage appealed to each and they all had a lot of fun doing the plays. Felix usually got the male lead and Marinette got the female lead." Gabriella explained.

"Mare?" Alya asked, thinking about the Horrificator fiasco.

"You can't exactly blame Mare for not performing her best. She didn't want the part as it belonged to Mylene. Not to mention she was forced into it if you recall." 'Plus the fact that she has to kiss Adrien.' Alix added in her mind. While Marinette was a bit obvious the only ones that seemed to know about her crush were Chloe, Sabrina, Alya, Nino and herself.

"True." Alya said.

"But that doesn't explain what Felix is doing in Paris." Adrien said puzzled.

"My parents decide to come home and start expanding." Felix said as he entered the room followed by an amused Nino and Marinette and a grumbling Nathanael.

"You couldn't resist could you?" Nino asked the group in general. Most blushed and looked away.

"How did you prevent Nathanael from killing you?" Kim asked. Nino and Mare started to laugh as Nathanael turned pink. Felix kept a calm facade but you could see an amused gleam in his eye.

"Do you remember the incident at the Yule party at Marinette's a few years ago?" Felix asked. Alix snorted, and Max and Gabby tried to cover their laughter with a cough.

"Yeah what about it?" Kim asked, chuckling at the memory.

"I have pictures." Felix said. There was a beat of silence before the group, sans Adrien, Alya and a glaring Nathan, broke into laughter.

"I hate you so much." Nate grumbled. Felix flashed his a predatory grin and shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll leave the rest of this conversation to you guys." Alix said pushing her friends out the door.

"I apologize for not doing this sooner. Hello Miss Gabriella." Felix greeted, bowing at the magenta clad female.

"Felix we have known each other long enough that you can drop the miss." Gabriella pleaded.

"What did you want to talk about?" Felix asked, ignoring the plea. Gabby just rolled her eyes used to it by now.

"First I wanted to give you this." Gabriella said, picking up a package that was next to her. Felix gently took off and folded the paper. He then smiled when he turned the frame around. Marinette peered over his shoulder, her eyes softening as she saw the picture.

"What is it?" Nathanael asked, his curiosity peaked. Alya, Nino and Adrien also were interested in what caused the smile on their friends' faces.

Felix turned the frame around and showed them the frame. The picture was candid shot of the quad. They were leaning against a short stone wall. Nathanael was sitting on the wall and wore a gray t-shirt and khaki shorts. A sketchbook on his lap and smiling as he drew. Nino was on the ground wearing a dark blue shirt with a turtle on it and black shorts. He had his head tilted back listening to music with a huge smile on his face. Felix was lounging on the wall, wearing a green short sleeve button up shirt and dress shorts. He was reading his book, with one hand hanging down and a soft smile. Marinette wore a white blouse and black cardigan with its sleeves rolled up and jean shorts that had been cuffed, her hair in a pony tail. Like Felix, she was reading, but one had was up intertwined with the Felix's free hand. She was looking at him with an amused smile. In the corners where a pair of drama masks and around the frame was a saying:  _Home is where my fellow drama royalties are_.

"When did you" Felix started to ask.

"It was during the drama club's weekend trip after the play to the countryside. The drama club wanted to give you a welcome back gift. Jean was the one who took the photo, Mirielle was the one who chose the frame, and I chose the line. That was why I was in your classroom yesterday before…" Gabby trailed off, not wanting to talk about Prima. Felix simply smiled.

"Tell the club that I am truly grateful for their thoughtfulness. This is an amazing gift, Gabriella." Felix thanked with a smile reserve for those he was closest to.

Felix was always respectful when it came to female classmates and added miss to their first name, with the exception of Chloe when she angered him, and referred to the male classmates by their last name. Nicknames were reserved only for those closest to him. He only called a person by their first name if they proved their worth. For him to drop the suffix was a gift even better than the one she gave him.

"There is one other reason I came." Gabriella admitted once she recovered from her shock.

"Oh what pray tell is that?" Felix asked with an arched brow.

"I wanted to inform you that we are going to be holding auditions for the school play next Thursday and Friday at lunch and after school. We would love it if you and your friends could find the time to audition." Gabriella said, hoping that he would agree.

"What play are you producing this year?" Marinette asked.

"We are doing  _Beauty and the Beast_." Gabriella said with a smile.

"We'll let you know." Felix said before turning back to Adrien and Alya who were still studying the photo. He cleared his throat causing the duo to look up.

"While I had," Felix paused, trying to find a better word than being chased, "stepped out and calmed Nathanael down, I got a call from my parents while still in the courtyard." Adrien straightened up, wondering what his Aunt Tiana and Uncle James called about.

"They called to inform me that they are back early from their trip and are taking us out to lunch. Afterward we do not need to return to school as they have cleared it with the school." Felix relayed to his cousin. The rest of the quad nodded having listened in on the coversation.

"Who exactly are you talking about when you say us?" Alya asked, scrutinizing the new comer.

"Nino, Nathanael, Adri, Marinette, myself," Felix paused and looked directly at Alya, "and yourself Miss Alya." Alya's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" Alya asked. Felix simply looked at her.

"For the past week and a half I have heard many stories about you Miss Alya from both Marin and Nino. They I find are generally good judges of character. When my parents called they asked that you could come along and my parents were happy to oblige." Felix explained before flashing a smirk.

"How did you swing that with the parental units?" Alya asked.

"My parents called my best friends families and got clearance." Felix drawled.

"And what of mine and Adiren's. I don't think your Uncle will be very happy." Alya questioned. Marinette laughed and sent a look to Felix. He smirked and nodded.

"Alya do you know what my paternal grandmother's maiden name is?" Marinette asked with a knowing smile.

"No." Alya answered, thrown off by the random question.

"It was Damocles." Marinette stated, her smile becoming a smirk. Alya's jaw dropped along with Adrien's.

"Wait a minute, the headmaster is…" Adrien started to ask.

"My father's uncle which makes him family." Marinette finished. She was still anxious around Adrien, but drew strength from Felix's presence.

"Why else would we have been allowed in the school without any supervision? I know that at least 3 other groups asked for permission to use the school for their film project, but only our group got permission to do so alone since Mare vouched. Then there is the fact that our class was able to use a class photo that didn't include the headmaster or our teacher. Plus there is the fact that the Mayor know that even if Chloe wants Mari her gone, going after the principles kids is a huge no." Nino pipes up. Alya ponders it and it does make sense.

"As for Uncle Gabrielle, he will be joining us along with Natalie and the Moray family." Felix says steering the conversation back on route. Adrien's eyes widened at the new information. How the heck did they manage that?

"Moray?" Adrien asked, not familiar with the name.

"Kyle and Ben Moray are twin brothers that my parents hired as live in bodyguards but they also take care of cooking and cleaning and my general health. They are in their 27. Grab your things we need to pick up Eris." Felix explain briskly already walking out the door.

"Who's Eris?" Adrien called.

"Eris is Kyle and Ben's 12 year old sister. Their parents are gone so she moved with the brothers. You will be seeing her a lot." Nathanael explained as the group scrambled after the grey green eyed youth.

"And why is that?" Adrian asked. Nino looked at him.

"You really don't have any clue. Until your family has a new place of residence they are staying with you and your pop." Nino explained to his best friend.

"WHAT?!" Adrien exclaimed.

~ ~ ~Time Skip ~ ~ ~ 

The group of teens and one preteen waited patiently for their ride. Adrien and Alya instantly took a liking to Eris. They also took the time to see the quad interact. It was amazing to see how at ease they were with one another. Felix's squinted and then groaned.

"They didn't." He mumbled into Mare shoulder. She looked in the direction of her best friends destress. She chuckled and shook her head.

"Yes your parents did in fact decide to use the limo instead of getting two cars." Marinette informed her friend. Eris giggled.

"At least this way we can all ride together." Nathanael piped up. Felix shot his red hair friend a glare but sighed knowing he was right.

"So likely hood of the usual antics?" Nino asked quietly to the artist.

"Definitely going to happen." Nathanael stated with a nod of his head. Alya and Adrien turned their attention to the artist. They were honestly surprised by Nathanael as he always came off as incredibly shy.

"What are the usual antics?" Adrien asked.

"It's better to see for yourself. Trust me." Nino said with a meaningful look.

_Beep! Beep!_

"Let's' go slow pokes!" Two identical well built brunettes emerged from the back of the car. Eris hugged the two before climbing in. Felix and Marinette waited for their friends.

"Miss Alya, Adrien, This is Ben and Kyle. Ben and Kyle, meet my cousin Adrien Agreste and Nino's girlfriend Alya Cesaire." Felix introduced pointing out which brother was which.

"We were told that you looked identical, but it's another thing to see it for our own eyes." Kyle stated. Adrien blushed and rubbed that back of his neck. Ben grinned before bumping the model's shoulder.

"Relax and welcome to the family little bro." Ben said.

"Little bro?" Adrien questioned smiling shyly.

"We adopted Felix as an honorary Moray and that now extends to you A-Man," Ben stated before turning to Nino, "You my young friend are one luck SOB."

"Thanks." Nino said with a grin. Soon everyone was in the back except for Marinette and Nino.

"Mari come sit with me and Adrien." Alya called patting the seat beside her. Marinette hesitated before clambering in. Alya grinned but the smile slid from her face as Marinette instead settled down next to Felix.

Alya's hazel eyes locked with Felix's grey-green eyes. Sparks flew between the two as they acknowledge a rival for the title of Marinette's closest best friend. Felix smirked as Alya glared. While Alay may have been there for Swan while he was gone he had been for longer. He may have learned to share, but that didn't mean he wasn't possessive at times. Marinette looked at two of her best friends confused while Nino and Nathanael shook their heads. This was going to get very messy.

As the Limo pulled away from the sidewalk Adrien took a moment to quietly observe everyone. Today had opened his eyes in so many ways, especially about his cousin and Marinette, a girl that he saw as his favorite civilian. Adrian try as he might couldn't help but feel a knot in his stomach as he tried to fight the jealousy that surged through his veins. This was going to be one hell of a lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cliche that when you randomly sneeze it means that someone is talking about you. I thought that it would be appropriate. I also was struggling not to laugh as I was writing this scene at the irony of how they think nothing has changed but in reality it has. It also gave me an excuse to have them bond and walk into class together.
> 
> So what did you think of the prank? I had something in mind ever since I wrote the scene after Volpina attack. I hope you liked it.
> 
> I wanted to give explanations of why Mare and the group would be so good at fighting and where Marinette got her fighting skills. Look up judo rankings for more information.
> 
> I had Alix, Kim, and Max talk to Alya and Adrien so they could get a little more info on their friends.
> 
> I had soooooo much trouble figuring out what I wanted the photo to be of. The saying was easier and is based on the quote "Home is where my bunch of crazies are" but I adjusted it to fit drama.
> 
> Felix may be a lot less aloof, but he is still formal.
> 
> The play is going to be a large part of the story. Beauty and the Beast is technically a french fairy tale so I thought it would be appropriate. I will be taking aspects of the musical, animated, and live action just to give you a heads up.
> 
> I know that the headmaster is not actually related to Tom but in my AU he is. Also I will be using a fan theory that I came across and tweak it to fit my needs. I will give credit to who introduced it but not until the bomb is dropped. Good luck with the torture Mwhahahaha (cue lightning and thunder).
> 
> New Characters coming up in the next chapter:
> 
> Tiana Bastille: Identical twin sister of the missing Isabella Agreste. She is a businesswoman and a queen in her own right. She loves her son but knows that she hasn't always been there for him. She deeply appreciates the Dupain-Chengs and the quad, especially Marinette. She has blonde hair that she keeps short and green grey eyes same shade as her son's. She is a caring soul and isn't afraid to chip her manicure.
> 
> James Bastille: A businessman who went from middle class to upper thanks to his and his wife successful business. A kind man who choses substance over surface any day. He is a tall man with a fair complexion and light blond hair. Isn't afraid to call others on their crap, a trait inherited by his son along with his aloof nature. He has three brothers and two sisters all who live outside of Paris. He thinks the world of his Felix and couldn't be prouder though he can't always be there for him.


	18. Meals and visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aloha readers!
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my storyline and original characters.
> 
> {"_"}- means phone call
> 
> '_' - means thoughts
> 
> On to the story!

* * *

 

Eris was enjoying the sights of Paris as they drove past, half listening to the different conversations going on around her. It wasn't until they passed the Manor that she realized she had no idea where they were headed.

"Um Excuse me?" Eris asked is a low voice. While she was comfortable around the Quad and her brothers, she was still nervous around Alya and Adrien.

"Yes Eris?" Kyle asked.

"Where are we going?" Eris questioned, fidgeting in her seat.

"Actually that is something I would like to know as well." Alya asked.

"Wish we could tell you, but Tiana and James were evasive and only told the driver where to meet up." Ben said with a shrug. Just than the car came to a stop and the screen then came down halfway blocking the appearance of the driver.

"I was given strict instructions not to divulge where we are going." The driver stated, his voice was slightly gruff and his accent revealed him to be american,

"Hey Joe." Called the collective voices of the Quad and Eris.

"Good to see you again." Joe said before putting up the screen.

"Okay who was that?" Alya asked pointing to the screen.

"That would be Joseph. He is my parents driver and head of security. You will meet him when we reach our destination Miss Alya." Felix drawled.

"He is also the one who hired my brother and I to look after Felix." Kyle added. He respected the man and was grateful for the opportunity he grated to his family.

"We've known him for years. The dude has acted as our groups chaperone since we were little." Nino said.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked.

"All of our parents have full time jobs, so whenever we wanted to do something other than hang out, Joe was the one who volunteered to look after us." Nathanael chimed in.

"Why would the head of security act as a glorified babysitter?" Alya asked.

"Lets just say that we ended up in some interesting situations." Marinette said vaguely. Alya wanted to pry, but knew that if she knew better to do so when Marinette had that look on her face.

"Still doesn't answer my question." Alya said instead.

"Joseph is very close to my parents, my father especially. He also wasn't always head of security. Whenever my parents were away, Joe was in charge of my care. When we moved Joseph got a promotion and hired Kyle and Ben to look after me in his stead." Felix explained.

"Well that's great and all, we still don't know where we are going to lunch." Nathanael interjected. Felix and Marinette shared a glance and then smirked. Nino was the only one that noticed.

"You two know where we are headed, don't you?" Nino asked. This caused the others to stare at Felix and Mare. They shared a smirk.

"We have a hunch that is all." Marinette said.

"Oh come on girl, spill." Alya pleaded to her friend.

"Nope, I would rather wait and see if I am right, then answer and be wrong." Marinette said with a shake of her head. Alya huffed and crossed her arms.

"Then can you at least tell me about the nicknames?" Alya asked, switching tracks. The quad shared a look.

"Not all of them, as Marin and Feels would kill me and Nathanael for revealing certain nicknames and their origins." Nino said bluntly.

"Yep." Marinette chirped, nodding at the statement.

"You would be destroyed slowly and maliciously." Felix drawled, stoic mask on.

"So how about we stick to the ones you will hear the most that aren't shortened versions of our names. Sound fair?" Nathanael questioned. Getting nods he sighed and pointed to the director.

"You will hear us call Nino, Sebastian and Genie." Nathanael stated.

"Sebastian is his original nickname and is because whenever we watched  _The Little Mermaid_  Nino would belt out said character's songs and loves music. He is also a complete crab if you wake him if you wake him too early." 'It also fits since he has a lot of heart and will do anything for a friend, even if it puts him in a terrifying position.' _._ Marinette thought fondly.

"There was this one time that we woke him up and he just glared at us and yelled to shut up. The best part was that he did it in a jamaican accent." Nate said cracking up. Nino lightly swatted him.

"We had watched the film last night and had been having a dream that was featuring caribbean music. Sue me." Nino grmbled. The quad lightly laughed alongside Adrien and Alya since they knew that the DJ wasn't actually mad. Calming down Marinette decided to continue on.

"Genie is relatively new and is based on Genie from  _Aladdin_. It is a good fit as he is the jokester of the group and is the one who most comfortable in the spotlight." Marinette said.

"Oh that is most definitely true." Alya stated, thinking of all the times Nino would show off during their dates.

"You are one to lighten the mood with humor." Adrien added, feeling more comfortable now that he could join in the conversation.

'It also fits since he would always be willing to give up his own happiness if meant that he could help his friends out.' Marinette silently added smiling. Nino could jump to conclusions, had a problem with most parents, but one thing that always shone through was his unending loyalty to his friends. Catching Felix's eye she knew he was thinking the same thing.

Alya wasn't sure how to feel at the moment. Her boyfriend had never mentioned anything to her about any of this. Granted neither had Marinette, but something told her that her girl had been burned before so she didn't push. It bugged her that she was learning facts that she should have already known. Even if it was simply about a cute nickname.

"Continuing on Nathanael is Hiccup and Robin Hood." Felix said and gestured for Nino to do the explanation.

"Hiccup from the  _Ho_ w  _To Train Your Dragon_  franchise. Like said character Nathanael is sarcastic, left handed, and a brilliant artist. 'This also stems from the fact that he is a very compassionate person, is very observant, has a dry sense of humor and is very inventive.' Nino added silently.

Alya laughed. "I could totally see Nate as that particular Viking."

"It gets better. One time we were on a hike in the woods and he pushed a branch aside and it whacked him in the face." Nino told those that weren't there. This caused all of them to chuckle.

"That hurt you know." Nathanael said dryly.

"Sorry it's just kind of perfect." Adrien said wiping a tear.

"Continuing on is Robin Hood, another name that has only recently started being used. Robin Hood is a man with a generous heart, and is incredibly clever." 'Not to mention never afraid to go against the rules.' Nino added silently. It would surprise most that the one that was the most willing to break the rules was almost always Nathanael. A sneaky thought crept into Nino's mind.

" Actually it also fits since Robin is an expert at blending in, be it disguise or in regular clothes. Something that Nathanael excels at. In fact there was this one time-" Nino was cut off when Nathanael made a lunge at him. This caused Mari and Felix to roll their eyes, both wearing a small, fond smile.

"Nino you know better than to bring up that story. Anyways, up next is Felix. His nicknames are Bagheera, Phoebus, and to annoy him we call him Bunny and Jack Frost and O'Malley, but we are trying to use those less." Marinette started off before gesturing for Nathanael to take the reigns.

"We used to always call him O'Malley but he got sick of it so we decided to use it only to annoy him. Kim used to call Felix a panther and it oddly fit. We remembered Bagheera and thought it over and found that it fit well. Bagheera became the go to nickname for Felix after that." 'Felix is level headed, has a bit of a temper, and is a cat that knows how to handle himself, just like said character.' Nathan added. While covering the basics of the nicknames was fine, the deeper meanings belonged solely to the quad.

"Continuing on is Phoebus from  _Hunchback of Notre Dame_  is a little do to the fact that he is blonde, but more to the fact that he has no problem verbally sparring with a woman. His friendship with Mare is proof enough of that." This caused the entire group to laugh. Nathanael mentally added that the the name fits since Felix will do what he feels is right morally even if it gets him in trouble, and is witty.

"Jack Frost and Bunny are from the same movie  _Rise of the Guardians._ We couldn't figure out which fit him better, the spirit of winter with a major sarcastic side, or the 6' Bunny that has a bit of a temper, so we are currently calling him both." Nathanael finished with a smile.

"Much to my ire." Felix drawled.

"And my amusement." Eris said, before covering her mouth. The group shared a laugh and Felix rolled his eyes.

"Last but not least is Marinette. Her big nicknames are Swan and Belle." Nino said. Felix took it as his que to start explaining.

"Swan finds its origins with the  _Pirates of the Caribbean_ film franchise after the character Elizabeth Swann. A female who is strong willed, and compassionate." 'Not to mention is a gifted leader, clever, and follows her heart even if it goes against the society thinks. This description fits both the character and  _my_  best friend.' Felix thought adding a distinction on the last part. He then smirked.

"It also is a bit of an ironic nickname as Mari can be one of the biggest klutzes you ever met." Marinete smacked him and playfully glared at him.

"I hate to say it but that is a great nickname for my girl." Alya said. Felix and her locked gazes.

"Is is just me or are they arguing over Marinette?" Adrien asked Nino quietly.

"It's not just you." Nino reassured.

"Felix has always been on the more possessive side when it came to Marinette, or at least the title of her closest friend." Nathanael added. Adrien blinked.

"This is going to happen a lot isn't it?" Adrien asked.

"Yep" Nino and Nathanael answered.

"What about the nickname Belle?" Eris asked, completely oblivious of the tension. Felix blinked and cleared his throat.

"Belle after the female protagonist of  _Beauty and the Beast._ An open minded individual, who is in truth a person who is beautiful inside and out." Felix explained, looking at his best friend with a soft and sincere smile. Marinette beamed and laid her head on her friend's shoulder, a small blush present on her cheeks. 'Plus she is witty, kind, looks beyond the surface to see a person's true worth, and is a major bookworm, something that always surprises others.' Felix added. He smiled happy that he could still get Mare to blush.

"What about the nicknames we heard in the classroom Flicker and Maripoza?" Alya asked, trying hard to beat down the jealousy she felt towards the bond this stranger had with  _her_  best friend.

This caused all of the Quad to laugh.

"Those are names they got when they joined the gymnastics team. All of the members had them, but their's were the only ones that stuck as they were close to their actual names. Maripoza is spanish for butterfly and Flicker is the common name of a type of woodpecker that likes to hang upside down, something that Fel here was notorious for doing when he was bored." Nathanael said smiling.

"Why didn't you include those in your explanation?" Alya asked.

"We didn't include them since we don't really use those names among each other. To be honest we come up with new nicknames all the time, but rarely do they stick for long." Nino said with a shrug.

"What about the nicknames you used earlier in the classroom, Alice and White Rabbit?" Adrien interjected, trying hard to contain his jealousy.

Felix smile that his cousin, but didn't say anything. Adrian sighed. He knew he was not going to get the answers he wanted and decide to let it be. He looked out the window and hoped that the car ride would be over soon. He got his wish 20 minutes later when Joe announced that they had arrived.

Ben was ecstatic when he felt the car pull to stop. He scrambled open the door and when he smiled at the restaurant before him The other passengers scrambled out and all but two were surprised at the site before them.

Nathanael turn to his friends. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

"You couldn't have just said our favorite restaurant?" He muttered, but then smile. It was good to see the place again.

Nino grinned as he took in the sign naming the place  _Typewriter Tavern._ It was a restaurant that was known for its constantly shifting menu, all which were hit, it's appealing atmosphere, and its' friendly staff. It was a hidden gem that had been apart of their lives for almost as long at their friendship.

"My mom says that this is one of those restaurants that isn't as well known, but still one of the best that she has ever been to." Alya said, impressed at the choice. Praise like that wasn't something that her mother dished out easily.

"I agree completely on that." Felix said before making his way to the front door.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

"Felix!" Tiana said engulfing her son in a hug which he stiffly returned. James smiled softly at his family and felt his smile grew when he saw three teens that he considered his own enter into the restaurant.

"Uncle Jim!" Nino and Nathanael said dashing to hug their honorary uncle.

"Hello boys. It is good to see you both." James said. He then looked towards the sole female of the Quad, who had lingered back along with the Morays.

"I am surprised that I didn't get hugged from either of my nieces." and held out his arms. Both Eris and Marinette grinned and embraced the man.

"Hello Uncle James." Eris chirped and released her brothers employer. The two families became very close over time and James had a special soft spot for Eris.

"Welcome back Uncle Jamie." Marinette said and flashed a smile up at the older blond.

"Ehem." A cough came. The teen and adult turned to see Tiana with her arms crossed and tapping her foot impatiently. The two shared an eye roll before James released Marinette who was promptly swept the girl up in a tight hug, squealing lightly. An action that caused both Bastille men to shared a small smile at the familiar and missed sight.

"Marinette! Oh let me look at you. Oh you have become such a beautiful young lady!" Tiana said taking a look at the girl she loved as much as her son.

"Thank you Aunt Tiana." Marinette said blushing. Tiana frowned and looked at the designer. This prompted Nino to pull out his phone and point it at Felix, making Adrien and Alya incredibly confused, and Nathanael grumble.

"As much as I love you calling my aunt," Tiana said pausing for a sigh, "I wish you would call me Mom! After all you are the perfect daughter-in-law." Tiana finished clapping her hands.

"Mother!/Aunt Tiana!" Two voices overlapped, both speakers turning pink. Alya's, Adrien's, and Eris's jaws had dropped at the bold statement. Ben and Kyle fought a chuckle at the look on their little brother's face and from looking to surprised. Nathanael face palmed and hoped that this was going to be the only mention of nuptials between the girl he liked and one of his best friends. Nino meanwhile was biting his cheek recording the entire process. Joeseph just stood there shaking his head.

"Look James they even talk at the same time. Oh they are perfect together." Tiana cooed to her husband. He looked at her in fond exasperation. His wife did this every once in awhile just to watch the reactions of the embarrassed teens. In truth she was only half joking as she had always thought that Felix and Marinette would make a wonderful couple.

The words caused both teens to turn a deeper shade of red.

"First my mom, now yours. You think they do this just to see how red they can get us?" Marinette asked her friend.

"It's our mothers." Felix said simply. This turned out to be breaking point for Nino who soon had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

"Nino give us your phone!" Marinette said and began chasing the teen with Felix hot on her heels.

"You really must stop doing that Miss Tia." Joe said with a small smile.

"Joe I will be doing that for as long as I possibly can." Tiana said and greeted the Morays. It was then that she noticed the other teens that were in the lobby.

"Oh I am so sorry Nathanael, Adrien. I was so caught up in teasing Felix and Mari that I completely ignored you. Oh I hope you aren't mad."

"It is okay Aunt Tiana." Nathanael said with a smile. As much as that made him uncomfortable he didn't blame it on his best friends mother.

"You were enjoying yourself Auntie, I don't mind." Adrien said rubbing his neck. Looking at his Aunt he could see traces of his mother, but he knew that the two were as different as Felix and himself.

Tiana smiled softly at her nephew and drew him into a hug.

"You look so much like my sister. You have her smile." Tiana said cupping Adrien's cheek. She then turned her attention to the other teen in the room.

"I don't believe that we have been introduced." Tiana said holding out her hand.

"Alya Cesaire, reporter, admin of the Ladyblog, and best friend of Marinette." Alya said with confidence. This caused James to raise an eyebrow. It seems that Felix had gained some competition while they were away.

"I have seen your blog. It is very good." Tiana said. She had been surprised at the fact that now Paris had superheroes but had the nagging feeling that she had dealt with something similar when she was young.

"Thank you miss…?" Alya trailed off.

"Oh sorry, I got side tracked. I am Tiana Bastille and this is my husband James. You can call me Tiana or Mrs. Bastille, which ever you are most comfortable with." Tiana said with a smile. Alya's eyes widened.

"Wait a moment. Bastille. As in Bastille Industries, the international company that is one of the biggest names in media and technology, and entertainment. Your  _those_ Bastile's?!" Alya said, close to hyperventilating. By then Felix and Marinette had caught Nino and deleted the film and entered the lobby again when they heard Alya's exclamation.

"The company does deal with other aspects but yes, that is what my parents company is primarily known for. You seemed surprised Miss Alya." Felix drawled, raising an eyebrow at her reaction.

"Wait, didn't you know?" Nino asked. Alya rounded on her boyfriend, eyes flashing.

"Would I have reacted like this if I knew. No one ever even mentioned what his last name was!" Alya said, throwing her arms in the air. The Quad pondered on her words and realized that she was correct in her assessment.

"Huh, I guess you are right about that, dudete." Nino said, rubbing his neck.

"Am I missing something?" James asked, watching as reporter glared at the DJ as he tried to pacify her.

"On top of being one of my best friends, Alya is Nino's girlfriend." Marinette stataed.

"Nino Lahiffe has a girlfriend. You four have really grown up." Tiana said fondly.

"Um Uncle James, where is my father?" Adrien asked as the group had been here for roughly ten minutes already and he had seen no sign of him.

"Gabriel had to take care of something he should be here is a few minutes Adrien." James said and inwardly sighed. Gabriel had always been protective of Adrien, but since Bella went missing it had gotten worst. Adrien was being stifled and James had been glad when he heard that Adrien had at last been allowed to go to public school at last.

"If it isn't my favorite customers." A cheerful voice called. A woman with coffee colored skin and black hair appeared. She had a huge smile. James went to greet her but then clutched his head. The woman had slapped him on the back of his head.

"About time you three came back. I hardly ever got to see these three since you left. On top of that you left without saying goodbye. You have better manners that that Jimmy." The woman said her hands on her hips.

"Good to see you too Cora." James said wincing. For a woman a head shorter than him she sure could pack a wallop. Cora just rolled her eyes and turned away. She then turned and opened her arms.

"Cora!" Marinette exclaimed, hugging the chef hard.

"Oh baby girl you've been gone too long." Cora cooed, rocking the teen as she hugged her.

"Sorry, I won't make that mistake again." Marinette replied, stepping back.

"You better not." Cora teased before going up to her other favorite teen. He went for a handshake but one look at her face and he knew that wasn't an option. He instead grinned and willingly hugged her.

"Good choice, I would have smacked you just like your father if you had denied me a hug after being denied his presence for the past two years." Cora said causing Felix to laugh.

"I have missed you Cora." Felix replied, relaxing as he took in the familiar warmth of the kitchen that always clung to the cook. He was released with a smile.

Cora then proceeded to greet the other Quad's, Joe, and Tiana warmly before turning to look at the new faces that had entered her restaurant.

"And who might you folks be?" Cora questioned, hands on her hips.

"My name is Ben Moray, this is my twin brother Kyle and our little sister Eris." Ben answered, and Eris waves shyly from her place beside her brothers. Cora kept a straight face before grinning.

"Well I am glad to hear a familiar accent again. Welcome to my humble establishment." Cora exclaimed, before hugging them all.

She then looked towards Alya and the reporter felt like the woman was looking at her very soul.

"My name is Alya Cesaire. A pleasure to meet you." Alya said simply.

"Mhm." Cora hummed, her lips pursed. She then turned to look at the group she already greeted.

"Cora, Alya is one of my best friends and Nino's girlfriend don't go to hard on her." Marinette pleaded. Cora was protective of the Quad especially of her and Felix so she understood why she was scrutinizing their guests so hard.

"Wait a minute, you mean that you ended up not only winning the favor of Mare but also the eye of Nino? Oh I like you already, especially since you seem like the kind of girl that can keep him in line." Cora said smiling. Alya sighed in relief and laughed already warming up to the chef before her.

"Hey." Nino protested.

"Oh you know it's true." Cora said not even turning to look at him, causing the entire group to laugh. Cora's eyes then settled on Adrien. She took in the boy and instead of scrutinizing she smiled and pulled the boy into a hug.

"You are already welcome here. Your Momma used talk about you all the time when she and Tia had their girls day out. I am glad to finally meet you." Adrien's eyes widened but hugged the woman back feeling completely at ease.

"Now I had the workers push together the tables so we are all set to take you to your seats." Cora called, leading the group down the right hallway.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

Gabriel Agreste and Natalie Sancoeur walked briskly into the restaurant that Gabriel's sister-in-law chose.

"Welcome, You two must be the last part of the Bastille party, correct?" The hostess asked.

"That is correct." Gabriel answered, nodding. The hostess ushered the two to follow her.

Natalie's eyes widened as she saw the large party that awaited her.

"I didn't realize…" Natalie said softly.

"That Tiana was my wife's identical twin and that her son is nearly a double of my own son. Not many people do know." Gabriel stated. He felt his heartache as he looked at Tiana and her short haircut, so unlike his wife's own prefered length.

"Father! Natalie! I am glad you are here." Adrien exclaimed spotting his father and getting up to greet him.

"Adrien." Gabriel greeted, a small smile tugging at the happiness on his son's face. How long had it been since he had looked that carefree?

Gabriel then rose a single silver brow.

"James,Tiana, forgive me for my rudeness, but I thought that lunch was going to be just between us, our sons, and Natalie. " Gabriel stated.

Tiana simply smiled at her brother-in-law.

"It was going to be just us, but Felix here asked about inviting his and Adrien's friends to come with us, an idea that seemed spectacular at the time. Ben and Kyle were going to have lunch with just them and Eris but their reservation was forgotten so we offered to let them join as well. Joseph had already eaten so he declined to join us." Tiana explained. Gabriel sighed but nodded his consent, after all he was a guest at this lunch and it wouldn't do to have Tiana cross with him.

Introductions were made and the two newcomers ordered their meals. After some prodding the Quad eventually revealed how they met and became friends. Gabriel couldn't help but notice that the origin of Felix and Marinette's friendship had been overlooked and feeling curious he decided to ask.

"Pardon the interruption, but from the story I gather that Felix and Marinette had already befriended one another. I was wondering how that particular friendship came to be?" Gabriel asked.

Felix and Marinette turned to each other. They knew that the story of how they met would come up but they were not expecting Gabriel to be the one to bring it up.

"We were about four years old when we first met." Marinette mused thoughtfully. Neither would ever forget that day and the bond that was engraved on their soul.

~ ~ ~ Flashback ~ ~ ~

Marinette was bouncing as she dragged her parents toward the fairgrounds entrance. She and her parents were on vacation and when the family had seen a flyer for a fair. Marinette had promptly begged her parents to go and they had consented. She wore a blue dress and a white jacket on, a pair of black boots completed her look. Her hair was free of its normal pigtails and she was instead sporting a black bow at the top of her head.

"Look Mommy, I see a Fer-ris Wheel!" Marinette said, trying to get the sounds right. Sabine smiled.

"Yes I see it too, sweetie. Although I have to say it is a little tall." Sabine stated, eying the ride.

"Don't worry Mommy! Me and Daddy will go on with you so there is no need to be scared!" Marinette cheerfully exclaimed. Sabine and Tom exchanged a smile at the girls statement.

"Thank you my dear Mari, I feel so much better." Sabine said. The pigtailed girl just grinned proudly.

Unknown to the Dupain-Cheng's there was another family visiting from Paris, but the young child wasn't as excited about coming as the little girl.

"No, no it can't be done next week, it need to happen this week, you understand?" Tiana Bastille said arguing over the phone.

"Listen call Kent back and counter his offer. With luck the deal will be closed next week and we will be toasting to our success." James said, talking to one of his numerous workers.

Felix fought the urge to sigh knowing that if he did his Nanny would be on his case. He was wearing a white button up with a red jacket, pair of pure white shorts, and black formal boots. He was fiddling with a pocket watch that his dad had leant him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the hawk like eyes of his newest Nanny glaring back at him.

The two children were incredibly different, but there was one thing that was certain. After today their lives would never be the same.

Both families had been at the park for some time now and each had decided to stop and get something to eat. The Bastille's had stepped away for a minute to take yet another phone call leaving Felix with his Nanny. He was trying very hard to eat his hot dog without spilling but he accidently got ketchup on his shorts, something that his Nanny was quick to see.

"You clumsy little fool!" The woman shrieked. The loudness of her voice caught Marinette's attention. She saw a mean lady yelling at a little blonde boy who had a blank face on. The boy turned his head and caught the little girls eye.

For one second the world stood still as Marinette saw a glimpse of a truly lonely soul and Felix a warm soul who had a touch of loneliness. It ended when the Nanny yanked the boy to look at her again.

"Listen when I am speaking to you brat!" The woman demanded.

"I would listen if I thought it was worth the effort." Felix said coldly. Marinette was torn between laughing and gasping out of shock at the boys cheekiness. The Nanny glared.

"As soon as your parents get back we are headed straight home. You will do double the work that you missed today." The nanny said. Felix eye's widened.

"But I was dismissed form my lessons today!" Felix protested. The nanny gave a cruel smirk.

"Tough luck little boy. Now stay here I am going to get some ice to ride your clothes of that stain." The Nanny walked off.

Felix shook in fury and a bit of sadness at the unfairness of it all. He impulsively jumped from his seat and ran into the hedge maze that was next to the fairground.

Marinette saw all this unfold and bit her lip unsure what to do. Neither of her parents were around since they were in line. They had left her alone on the promise she would behave.

She then saw something shining on the ground. Her eyes widened at the sight of the watch, she looked at the boys figure and realized it belonged to him. Not thinking of the consequences or her promise the four year old grabbed the fallen watch and ran after the boy.

Felix fights the tears that threaten to fall as he runs through the maze, finally he hits a dead end and slides down, burying his head in his arms. This entire thing was incredibly unfair. He loved his parents, but it always seemed like they prioritized work over him. Even when they were out together they were always on their phone meaning they had to bring the witch with them. He wished that his parents could see just how unhappy he was and would actually try and be there or at least get rid of the hag that was making his life miserable.

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

His head snapped up and he took in the kind eyes of the little girl who was smiling softly at him.

"What do you want?" Felix said harshly, wiping away his tears discreetly.

"You dropped this." The girl said, holding out his dad's watch. Felix's eyes widened and he snatched away the clock from the girl's hand.

"Great now do me a favor and leave." Felix said. The little girl frowned and crossed her arms.

"Your welcome for giving you back your watch." Marinette said. Felix fought hard against the eye roll.

" _Thank you_  for returning my watch now will you  _please_  leave." Felix gritted out. The girl grinned.

"Nope." She said. Felix felt his temper flare.

"'Why not!?" Felix demanded.

"Well one, you are a bit of a grump so I don't  _want_  to listen and two, you are a stranger so I won't listen to what you tell me to do." Marinette explained, her hands on her hips.

Felix felt like screaming. How could someone be so stubborn. He glared at the girl and to his surprise she glared right back. They kept this up until they both broke the gaze. Felix huffed and moved past her.

"How rude." The little girl huffed. This time Felix did roll his eyes. Marinette trailed after the boy, her curiosity burning. Although the little boy was rude and mean there was something about him that made Marinette want to get to know him.

"Slow down White Rabbit!" Marinette called. Felix stopped and turned around.

"What did you call me?" Felix asked confused.

"I don't know your name so I am going to call you White Rabbit." Marinette said, as if stating the obvious.

"Why?" Felix said, more curious than offended.

"Because you are dressed like the White Rabbit from  _Alice in Wonderland_. Duh!" Marinette said with a huff, her hands once more on her hips.

"No I am not." Felix protested.

"You have white shorts on, Have a red jacket, are dressed formally, have a watch, and are running. You are the White Rabbit." Marinette said as she counted out her reasons on her finger. Felix eye slightly widened at her reasoning.

"I am not." Felix said glaring.

"Are too!" Marinete protested, also glaring.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are not."

"Am too," Felix said automatically. His eyes widened and Marinette jumped in joy.

"You tricked me!" Felix said.

"Yep!" Marinette proudly grinned at the blonde. Felix wanted to be mad, but was actually impressed. No one his age had ever actually been able to keep his interest and yet this girl was.

"Fine you can call me White Rabbit, but only if I can call you Alice." Felix said with a roll of his eye.

"Why Alice?" Marinette asked. Felix smirked.

"Because one, I don't know your name, two, you are dressed for the part, and three you did just follow me into a maze." Felix pointed out. Marinette let out a giggle.

"Fine by me." She said nodding. Felix started walking and oddly felt lighter. The two kids walked and Marinette began asking questions. At first Felix ignored her but soon he started to answer back and ask questions in turn. Where Marinette had walked behind him she now walked in step. Neither had noticed the calls of their families, muffled by the tall hedge walls. The two had passed by a few people but most payed them no mind. The maze wasn't as crowded since it was a weekday.

"Wait so you live in Paris?" Marinette asked her eyes wide. Felix nodded and felt a smile tug at his lips.

"So do I!" Marinette said. Felix turned to his companion.

"Really? That is a strange coincidence." Felix mused. What were the chances that there were two parisian families that decide to go to the countryside for a vacation?

Marinette shook her head.

"Mommy says there is no such thing and that everything happens for a reason." Marinette stated. Felix let out a small smile. Before he could say anything else he heard Alice gasp. He turned his head and saw that they had unknowingly reached the center of the maze.

The center housed a beautiful weeping cherry tree in full bloom. At the base of the tree was a bench. Both four year olds scrambled to sit and shared a grin.

"Felix Bastille."

"Huh?" Marinette blinked. Felix's grin just got wider.

"My name is Felix Bastille." Felix said holding out his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Felix. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Marinette said grasping his hand.

"Now are you going to tell me why you are so sad?" Marinette asked. Felix eye widened. He looked at his friend but saw no judgement, only curiosity. He slowly nodded and began to talk about his life.

He talked about how his parents were always in and out of his life, how he had gone through numerous horrid Nanny's but the current one was the worst, he talked about how he was jealous about how his cousin always had his mom with him, how he hated the kids that he was forced to play with, how he loved violin lessons, but hated that he never got to learn what he wanted, and about how lonely he was, even though he had some friends with the staff it wasn't the same as having a friend of his own. It came pouring out because something about Marinette made Felix trust the girl with his lonely heart. By the end of it Felix had tears running down his face and he wasn't trying to hide them any longer. Marinette hugged her new friend and smiled when he hugged her back.

"Feel better?" Marinette asked. Felix looked at her and nodded.

"As odd as it sounds yes." The blonde said with a smile.

"Since you were kind enough to share with me the least I can do is share with you." Marinette said before telling of her own life. How she had an accident and couldn't remember much of her earlier years, how her parents were great but overprotective, how she wasn't in any day care since her parents had the bakery right downstairs, how she drawing and reading but felt sad that she didn't have anyone to play with, and how even though she loved her parents, she was lonely and wanted a friend of her own.

Felix held the girl and couldn't help but smile at how different, yet similar they were.

"Hey Felix?" Marinette said as she snuggled up to her new friend.

"Yes Marinette?" Felix asked. Marinette looked up at him.

"Let's make a promise." Marinette held up her pinky. Felix linked his with hers, showing he accepted.

"I promise that from this day forward you and I will be best friends and that I will try my hardest to make sure that you aren't lonely anymore, since you have me." Marinette pledged. Felix felt a lump in his throat and blinked back tears. He then grasped her pinky tighter and began his vow

"I promise as well that from this day forward you and I will always be best friends no matter what happens. Even when we are apart I will always be in your heart because 'Once you've met someone-"

"'You never really forget them.' I thought I was the only one who ever watched  _Spirited Away_!" Marinette finished the quote. Felix laughed and the two friends continued to talk and as time went the two drifted off to sleep where they were found by their parents not long after curled up together, their pinkies still linked.

~ ~ ~ Flashback End ~ ~ ~

Felix and Marinette finished their tale, editing the more personal pieces and shared a smile.

"You two scared us all half to death. I swear I lost at least a year of my life from the stress alone." James said with a shake of his head.

"Still it was good to see the nanny's true colors. After that there was an increase of playdates and Joe was asked to be in charge of Felix." Tiana said smiling as she recalled the first time she found the blonde and blue haired children asleep in each others embrace.

"My mom once told me this ancient chinese proverb that says 'an invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break. May you be open to each thread that comes into your life - the golden ones and the coarse ones - and may you weave them into a brilliant and beautiful life'. I can't help but feel that if fit our friendship." Marin said with a fond smile that was mimicked by Felix. He pulled his best friend into a hug and couldn't help but thank his lucky stars that he was given an Alice that was willing to chase him down.

Nino and Nathanael shared a look and smiled. When they first became friends with Bagheera and Swan they were jealous of the bond that the two had, but got over it quickly as they created their own bonds with the two. Alya and Adrien on the other hand tried to beat back the jealousy that they felt as the learned just how deep the friendship ran between Marinette and Felix. It opened their eyes in ways they couldn't begin to realize.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

After lunch Natalie had offered to let Gorrilla drop the teens off since the rest of the group was going to the Agreste Manor. Before anyone could say anything Nathanael called shotgun and left Nino and Marinette with an agitated Alya. The conversation streamed solely from the three Quads in the car. Alya remained silent, worrying both Marin and Nino.

Nathanael's house was first and he paused and silently wished his friends luck.

"Why didn't any of you mention your friendship to me?" Alya finally asked as the car pulled away. Marinette decided to take the reins and answer.

"After Felix left our group dealt with some shit and grew apart. While I consider you one of my best friends, some of the things that went down aren't things that I have a hard time talking about. I didn't mean to hide my past friendships with you, the subject just didn't come up." Marinette said quietly.

"That doesn't explain much girl." Alya said with a sigh. It was hard to stay mad at Mare.

"I won't go into the details not now."Marinette said, holding up a hand to stop her friends protest.

"I won't go into details, since you and Adrien will be getting them together for the movie night at my house tomorrow." Marinette finished.

Nino stared at Marinette and felt a variety of emotions, but the one that shown clearest was gratitude, something that Alya made note of to ask later.

"What time should I be there?" Alya inquired. While she wasn't happy she knew that she would get her answers tomorrow so it wasn't as big a deal to her.

"I would say 16:00 ( **4 pm)**  at earliest." Marinette said, glad that her friend wasn't going to push it.

"Anything I should bring?" Alya asked.

"We are covered for food, if you want you can bring some movies. Oh and my parents are fine with everyone staying over so make sure to bring an overnight bag." Marinette answered. The girls chat over possible movies until Gorrilla pulled up to the blogger's house.

"Alright Mare I will see you tomorrow." Alya said smiling before turning to glare at Nino.

"You I am still very mad at." Alya said before slamming the door.

Nino sighed and looked at his angry girlfriend stomp away. He had a feeling that the sleep over had gotten a lot more complicated. He then smiled at Mari.

"You need some help?" A familiar voice asked. Nino smiled at Marinette.

"I would normally say I can handle it, but yeah. Dudette I need some major help with trying to calm down an angry Alya and to properly answer her questions." Nino answered truthfully. Marinette smiled.

"Well then, let us see if we can calm her down tonight." She said with a smirk. Nino eyed her.

"You have a plan?" Nino asked. Her plans were usually very creative and at the moment he was desperate for some help.

"Yep but it comes with a catch." Marinette warned. Nino sighed and looked at her determined.

"What do I need to do?" Nino asked. Marinette smiled mirth dancing in her eyes. Nino smiled back and could help but think of how much he had missed this.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

"You know when you said it came with a condition, I was expecting to end up being your pincushion or bag boy, not helping you cook." Nino said nudging her and Marinette laughed. After being dropped off Marinette dragged Nino to the market and proceeded to go shopping, having Nino pay for half of it.

"Alya prefers gifts from the heart and the quickest way to Alya's heart are cookies and Ladybug, or at least the way to her good side." Marinette quipped, laughing.

Nino stirred his bowl of cookie dough that had red and black colored M&M's mixed throughout and smiled. It felt good to be helping out again in the kitchen, he missed cooking.

"I thought you were going to be making these tomorrow for Felix?" Nino inquired.

"Oh I am, these are for Alya alone so the batch is smaller. The one for our movie night will be bigger and will be my specialty cookies these may be from scratch but I didn't add the secret ingredient. Plus I will be using generic M&M's, these I custom ordered." Marinette said. Nino could feel his mouth water at the mention of Marinette's special cookies ones that she did with both M&M's and chocolate chip.

"By the way thanks for inviting Alya and Adrien. It means a lot to me." Nino said with a grateful smile. Marinette waved him off.

"Felix and I were texting on the car ride home and decided to invite both of them, I texted Nathanael as we pulled away to let him know and he gave the all clear. We would have asked you but we knew you would say yes. Besides you know I adore Alya and Adrian-"

"Is your crush." Nino finished and ducked as a spoon was swung at him.

"You had best not say anything to either Nathanael or Felix, got it?" Marin demanded, glared at him. Nino put the bowl down and held up his hands in surrender.

"I won't, but why is it such a big deal if they knew? " Nino asked.

"Are you kidding. The two of them are super protective. Do you remember that winter function that Felix asked up to go to about four years ago?" Marinette asked. Nino thought for a moment before wincing at the memory of both his friends losing their cool.

"Yeah I see ya mean." Nino said rubbing the back of his neck and winced again at the thought of poor Julian.

"So what is next chef?" Nino asked.

"What is Alya's favorite sandwich, potato chip flavor, fruit, and drink?" Marinette asked.

"A caesar salad wrap with chicken, classic waves, cantaloupe, and the drink is iced tea." Nino answered automatically.

"Exactly right, you are a great boyfriend. I got a bag of those chips, bought a cantaloupe, and since I am already making fruited ice tea, we can spare a Liter as long as we make plenty of I am already making chicken salad we have the ingredients the sandwich won't be an issue either." Marinette smiled. The cogs whirled in Nino's mind.

"Are you helping me prepare a picnic dinner with Alya?" Nino asked. Marinette nodded.

"Yep. Now as soon as everything is ready, go home and change. I will get the basket ready for when you get back." Marinette stated. Nino smiled at her and nodded.

"But Alya is pissed at me. How am I going to get her to come?" Nino said, furrowing his eyebrows."

"Leave that to me, oh and bring your cello. I am setting this up in the park." Mariette answered with a smirk. Nino took a deep breath and nodded.

"Anything else?" Nino asked sarcastically.

"Well…" Marinette dragged the word. Nino groaned but nodded. He was glad that his friend was back in his life.

~ ~ ~ Time skip ~ ~ ~

Alya came running down the street and entered the park. When she saw Marinette, she darted over to her.

"I got your message. Where is Ladybug?" Alya said looking around.

"Sorry to say that she stepped out. However there is someone else who wants to talk to you." Marinette stepped aside to show Nino. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a light blue button up. He was without his signature hat. In his hand was a bouquet.

"Um you may or may not know this but Marinette has a huge green thumb. She also likes to learn about what each flower means and there is meaning behind this bouquet: Iris, your friendship means so much to me, Gladioli, I am really sincere, a white Orchid, reverence and humility, and finally purple hyacinth, I am sorry." Nino said giving her the flowers. Marinette had let him chose the flowers and she told him the meaning so that he could get his meaning across.

"This is incredibly sweet, but I am still mad and it is going to take more than flowers with pretty meanings to get on my good side." Alya said after accepting the beautiful arrangement. Nino took a deep breath.

"I know, that is why I also brought this." Nino made his way over to a bench where his cello case lay. Alya gasped. She had been begging to hear him play since she first spotted the instrument, but he had always refused. He may actually end up in her good graces.

Nino took a deep breath. The reason he always denied his girlfriend's request was because he was nervous about playing in front of her as her opinion mattered. He froze once he was set up, not sure of the song to play. He felt a tap on his shoulder and fought to keep his jaw from dropping when he saw Marinette holding a guitar.

"I have the perfect song in mind." 'Don't worry I have your back.' The words went unsaid but Nino felt some tears prick his eyes.

Alya was astonished as her best friend revealed another hidden part to her and started strumming the opening of "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" and her boyfriend joining in. Alya blinked away tears as she listened to the beautiful music created by her two favorite people. She looked at the soft smiles on both faces and realized that this was the first time that either had played with the other and she was grateful that they included her in this moment. When the song ended Alya rushed to give her bf a hug.

"Girl that was amazing! I had no idea you could play!" Alya said, missing the flash of pain in Marinette's eye that came at the reporter's words.

"It got away from me, but I think I will start playing again." Marinette said with a small smile. She caught Nino's eye and nodded her head signalling that she was fine. Nino sighed but left it alone deciding to call her later. Alya may have missed the look but he didn't. He shook his head and tried to interject some humour into the situation.

"So is there a chance of you forgiving me tonight?" Nino jocked. Alya playfully thought about it for a few moments before answering.

"Okay you  _may_ have a chance at me forgiving you tonight, but only if you play another song together." Alya pleaded. Nino looked to Marinette and they shared a grin.

"How about I chose the song this time?" Nino proposed. Marinette smiled and leaned in as Nino whispered the title. She nodded and the two began preparing their instruments. Alya anxiously waited to hear their song choice.

Once again Marinette started the song off and Alya couldn't help but smile as the melody washed over her. Soon she was humming "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and bopping her head to the beat. Alya clapped when the song ended.

"Thank you so much for sharing your talent with me. You two truly amazing." Alya said. Both teens blushed. They put away their instruments and then Mare hugged them both.

"As much as I love spending time with you guys, I don't want to impose on your date." Mari stated, smirking at Alya's confusion. The designer jerked her head and Alya caught sight of a picnic blanket, battery candles, and a basket nested under a tree. She put a hand to her mouth and looked at Nino who was rubbing his neck as his face flushed. He held out his hand and together they walked to the tree.

With each item revealed Alya's surprise and happiness grew. All of it was delicious and she knew she had to find where Nino had gotten everything. She was beaming when the ladybug themed M&M's were shown.

"You went all out didn't you?" Alya said, her eyes soften at the amount of care that Nino put into the picnic and how well he knew her.

"Marinette is the one who help set it up and is the one who picked up the ingredients." Nino admitted.

"Ingredients? Don't tell me that you two actually made all of this?" Alya asked, once more surprised. Nino smiled happy that he had been able to surprise her so much.

"Minus the chips, everything that we had we made earlier today." Nino said nodding.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Alya asked. She had mostly gotten past her anger and now just wanted to learn more about her amazing boyfriend.  
"Tom. Sabine, Cora," Nino closed his eyes pausing as he remembered the last main teacher of the Quad in the kitchen, "And my grandfather when he was alive. We had a few other teachers over the years but those were the main teachers."

"You've never mentioned your grandfather." Alya stated softly. Nino paused but decided it was time to forge on.

"He was the first person to encourage my love of music. He also was the one who bought me my first video camera when he saw how fascinated I was with film. Even as he got older he ever complained when I brought my friends with me to visit, instead he bonded with us.

"Whenever I needed to talk things over he was the first one I went to, minus the other Quads. He always supported and encouraged me no matter what. He never treated me like my thoughts were less even if I was young." Nino blinked as he felt tears prick his eyes. Alya held his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"He was the one who taught me to play the cello. I fell in love with it because of him. I miss him so much. When I lost him I pushed away two of the people I was closest to, Swan and Hiccup. I pushed them since I had already lost two other precious people, Felix to distance and Gramps to age, I knew it was irrational but…" Nino sighed. Alya rubbed Nino's hand with her thumb in comforting circles.

"You didn't want to feel the pain of losing someone else close to you." Alya finished his thoughts. Nino nodded and wiped the tears in his eyes. He felt lighter now that he told Alya a little more about his past.

"I am so sorry." Alya whispered as she drew her boyfriend close.

"Why?" Nino asked puzzled.

"I was surprised at the fact that there was a side of you and Mare that I didn't know about and then jealous at the easy bond you had with Felix and envious about how close he and Marinette are. I lashed out at you two for holding back and didn't realize how painful the past was to bring up." Alya confessed. Nino smiled and kissed her temple.

"I don't blame you, but I am glad you told me." Nino said. He then stood up and held out his hand. Alya brushed off her pants and grabbed his hand. They gathered up the supplies and Nino walked her home. They enjoyed the sights of the city at night and in the presence of each other.

~ ~ ~ Meanwhile ~ ~ ~

Marinette set her sketch down and stretched. She then looked at the guitar case placed next to her desk with a fond smile. She then peaked out the window and saw that her friends had already vacated the park. Since she hadn't gotten any calls or angry friend storming into her room she assumed that it was a success.

"Seems like the plan worked after all." Marinette mused. Tikki nodded as she finished up her cookie.

"What you did for your friends was incredibly kind and very sweet." Tikki complimented. Mare smiled at her Kwami.

"Thanks Tikki." Marinette said.

"I also found your playing to be incredibly beautiful." Tikki said, watching her charge turn a light pink. Marinette gave the case a wistful look.

"How long has it been since you last played?" Tikki questioned gently. Marinette gave a half smile.

"Figures you would pick up on that." Marinette sighed and closed her eyes, the memory playing in her mind.

"It's been about a year since I last played my guitar." Marinette admitted. Tikki's eyes grew round.

"A year?" The Kwami whispered.

"Yep. Basing on how well the guitar is tuned I guess my parents wanted to keep it in good condition, hoping that I would start playing again." Marinette mused.

Before Tikki could ask any more questions a ringtone went off.

" _We are, we are_  
Not your ordinary fami-mily  
But we can all agree that  
We are, we are  
Close as close can be"

Marinette smiled as she accepted the call.

"Hey Genie." Marinette said.

{"Belle I can't thank you enough for your help today."} Nino said happiness evident in his tone.

"So the date went okay?" Marinette asked.

{"It went brilliant. She was surprised when she realized that we were the ones who made the food. She even asked who taught us."} Nino said softly. Marinette went to respond when the full weight of Nino's words sank in.

"You told her about your Gramps." Marinette deduced.

{"I did and actually it made me feel better. I think that I will tell Adrien latter on."}

"Good for you Nino." Marinette said.

{"So how are you holding up?"} Nino asked softly. Marinette knew that Nino saw her expression so she didn't try and evade answering his question.

"I will honestly say that I wasn't sure about playing again, but the fact that I was playing to help a friend out let me take that risk. I realized that I missed playing."

{"Well I am glad to hear that we will be graced by your talent once more."} Nino said. Marinette laughed.

"Hey Nino?" Marin asked.

{"Yes Swan?"} Nino answered.

"I-I am going to tell the others." Marinette said finally coming to a decision. Marinette heard a crash and a curse.

"Nino what happened?" Mari asked concerned.

{"Tipped back too far don't worry about it. Are you sure about telling the others. I mean I only know cause I was there the day…"} Nino's voice trailed off.

"I know, but I realized that this burden, this secret that I have, I need to willingly share it and I know my friends will be there on it. You are going to be on the hot seat though to warn you." Marinette explained.

{"While that doesn't sound fun I got your back dudette. When are you going to tell them?"} Nino inquired.

"I am not sure but as soon as the opportunity presents itself I will tell them." Marinette assured.

{"Night Marinette."} Nino called.

"See you tomorrow Sebastian." The called ended and Marinette got up. She began to change when she paused, hearing a thump from above. A smirk formed and she finished changing and proceeded to go up to her balcony. She leaned against the railing and breathed deeply and let it out with a sigh.

"Beautiful night, don't you agree Chat?" Marinette called. She looked back and saw one of the heroes of Paris on the edge of her roof with a small smile on his masked face.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to add the conversation between Chatwalk ( Mari and Chat) but I realized that the chapter was getting a bit lengthy. So you will have to wait to hear the explanation of why he is there until next time.
> 
> Joe is named after and based on Joseph from The Princess Diaries film series. He will be making a few appearances but not many.
> 
> I couldn't help but picture Tiana as someone who doesn't mind being bubbly around her family and those she trust. I also want Felix to get his trolling skills from someone and who better than his mother.
> 
> A big thanks everyone who favorited and followed, kudos, bookmarked and commented on my story, I would add the giant list but it is getting a bit excessive.
> 
> The restaurant is one that I made up but I do think it would be a good name for a restaurant. I based it on a lot of restaurants that I have been to over the years. The lobby is set up to be like a lounge, and you can't see dining rooms. There are two hallways. The one on the leads to the bar area and has a few high tables, booths, and short tables. To the side is a stage where a person can perform. To the right is a more proper dining floor with soft light, there are tables and booths but no high tables. Both hallways lead to the kitchen and in the very back is a double door that leads to a patio that is strung with lights, has its own bar area and stage. There is also an area that is cleared for dancing. All on the walls and tables are quotes it various fonts.
> 
> I know the sassy chef is a bit cliche but I couldn't resist. Cora won't play a huge role in my story but you will see her throughout the series. I also wanted there to be a connect to Adrien's mother.
> 
> Nathanael's cannon last name will be used from now on.
> 
> The quote is said by Zeniba and it is amazing to me.
> 
> The quote literally says ancient chinese proverb.
> 
> What did you think of the apology date?
> 
> "We are (family)" by Keke Palmer is Marinette's ringtone for Nino. It makes me sad that this isn't actually a ringtone.
> 
> Also any guesses on why Marinette so sad and what her secret is?
> 
> You can order custom M&M's. The special cookies are based on a recipe my mom uses.
> 
> Joe: A bald olive skinned man in his late forties and of average height. He has been friends with the Bastille's since before their company was a success. He acted as caretaker for Felix and by default the rest of the Quad for years. When he was promoted to head of security he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay with Felix anymore so he hired the Moray's to take care of the boy he viewed as a nephew. He has a scar on his temple and is a man that gives off an intimidating aura.
> 
> Cora Harth: She is a chef in her early forties and owner of the Typewriter Tavern and has been cracking quips since the day the Quad stumbled into her life. She has a zest for life and a way of making people see the world in a new way. They come to her restaurant not only for the food but for the advice she gives. She won't let anyone get away with disrespecting her and her people no matter who it is and what the repercussions is. She is also known as the chef of love for the fact that she is a skilled matchmaker. She is 5'6' has coffee colored skin, blue eyes, and brown hair.


	19. Relationships: The Good and The Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the long wait. The chapter took longer than expected and I apologize. It is also shorter than I would like but honestly it has been too long.
> 
> Seems like I got a lot of positive feedback from the last chapter with the appearance of Chat at Marinette's house. Now after one review let me clarify, Mari heard a sound that alerted her that Chat was around. That's how she knew to go to the roof.
> 
> Just to give you all a heads up this chapter will be hitting a lot of feels.
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my story ideas and Original Characters.
> 
> {"_"} - this means phone call

* * *

 

"It certainly is a  _meow_ -varlous sight, Princess." Chat replied sitting down. Marinette groaned at the his words.

"Are you ever going to stop it with the stupid puns?" She asked sarcastically. Chat grasped his chest dramatically.

"You wound me. My puns are  _claw-_ some!" Chat refuted with a smirk. Mari shook her head and rolled her eyes. If she couldn't stop him from using them as Ladybug, than her civilian self had no hope.

Ever since the Evilustator incident Chat had made a point to check up on her. Somehow down the line they ended up forging a friendship.

"So what brings you here tonight kitty?" Marinette asked.

"Can't a Cat drop in to visit his favorite citizen?" Chat deflected, hoping that the designer would buy it. Marinette stared at the black clad teen as if saying 'You really expect me to buy that bullshit?'. Chat averted his gaze, causing Marinette to sigh.

"Honestly what is wrong?" Marinette asked, worry laced in her tone. Chat looked at her and gave a small, hesitant smile.

"I can never get anything past  _mew_." Chat mused. Marinette gestured for him to start talking. She sat down against her railing.

"I was out of town for a little while and when I came back, everything had changed and I don't know how to react." Chat said.

"Are you alluding to the warm welcome you gave Volpin?" Marinette asked sarcastically. Chat looked at her shocked. Marinette inwardly rolled her eyes. Even if she wasn't there first hand, her partner had a tendency to jump the gun. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch that he attacked Volpin.

"Oh give me a break. I know you better than that Chat. the way you were fighting, that wasn't a spar that got to intense, it was a battle against someone you deemed a threat. A wrong call on your part." Marinette said. Chat opened his mouth but then closed it. His princess was smart and honestly it was nice that someone knew him so well.

"While I admit I may have  _hiss_ -judged Volpin, he still rubs me the wrong way." Chat stated. Marinette looked at her partner closely.

"That's not the only thing that is bugging you, is it?" Marinette questioned quietly. She had been around Chat long enough, both as a civilian and hero, to know when something was truly bothering him, by both his voice and his body language.

Chat shook his head and sighed, proving Marinette's theory right.

"If it was only my superhero life that had change then I wouldn't be so con- _fur_ -sed. No what is really bugging me is what's going on with my civilian life." Chat admitted. It was easy to talk to his princess about this stuff as she was a great listener. Plus he didn't want to burden his lady with his problems.

Marinette smiled at her partner. Chat didn't usually talk about his personal life with her or her super side. He was always willing to listen to her problems when she was Ladybug, but refused to talk about his own problems. She felt guilty for using Chat's lack of knowledge against him but she could admit that she was a bit selfish. She was glad that Chat was willing to talk to someone and it touched her that Chat would chose to confine in her normal, imperfect civilian self.

Chat tried to think of a way to explain the situation to Mari without revealing anything too personal.

"I have this amazing group of friends who always have my back. However, recently a childhood friend has come back. The problem is that they aren't just  _my_  childhood friend. Since they returned I have seen sides to certain friends that I couldn't begin to think possible." Chat said, showing his agitation.

"Then there fact that my closest female friend and my cous- er childhood friend have this amazing and deep bond that is," Chat paused, "untouchable. I feel like an outsider. I am feeling like an outsider and it is driving me absolutely nuts!" Chat shouted and grabbed his hair. "It makes me wonder if they even really care." Chat muttered quietly.

"Now stop right there Chat." Marinette said firmly. The hero raised and gulped at the look on the designers face.

"First of all, you will always learn new things about your friends, so don't ever say they don't care just because they didn't show them right away. Be glad that they trust you enough to let you in. I know from personal experience that it is sometimes hard to share certain parts of yourself with another. " Marinette clenched her fist and Chat saw a deep sadness in the eyes of the most optimistic person he knew. He wondered what her burden was, but was cut off when she looked up and glared at him.

"Second of all." Marinette moved over to him and punched the hero in the arm, hard.

"OW! That hurt Marinette!" Chat said rubbing the spot.

"Good then may help the message sink in. Control your jealousy!" Marinette stated before sighing.

"Look take it from someone who's jealousy caused a huge mess more times than I'd care to admit,.It isn't worth it. It's normal to be envious at times, but we have to remember what we have. So your friends have a strong bond with your friend. No two relationships are the same, they can be similar but not the same. Treasure the bonds you have instead of the ones that you don't." Marinette advised, thinking about Volpina. It was then that she started to keep a better reign on her temper. She didn't want the guilt that weighed on her to be forced on her friend's shoulders. "Also most likely your friends were probably as clueless as you about the fact that you had any mutual friends outside of your close nit circle."

"Thanks Princess, so I heard your performance earlier. I had no idea my princess was a  _tail_ -ented  _meow_ -scition." Chat said wanting to change topics. Mare looked at him, but decided to let it go for now. She just hoped that Chat learned the meaning behind her words before he ended up hurting someone.

"Not your princess, but thanks kitty. I have been playing for a long time, it just got away from me in recent years." Marinette told her partner, not getting into specifics. For a moment there was an awkward silence, but Chat quickly changed topics to something more neutral. The two teens talked for a while longer, it was only until Marinette yawned that they realized how late it was.

"Well that is my  _mew_  to leave. Good night princess." Chat said as he stood up and stretched.

"Night Chat. Sweet dreams." Marinette replied, fighting another yawn. Honestly that kitty always caused her to lose sleep regardless if the city was in danger or not.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

~ **Agreste Mano** r~

Felix watched as Adrien yawned and dragged himself over to the table. The model was rubbing his eyes and looking as if all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed.

"Morning Adri, long night?" Felix asked, as if the answer wasn't obvious. He was rewarded with a glare.

"Hey now don't you start pointing fingers. I know for a fact that you were up late last night as well Felix." Ben scolded as he emerged from the kitchen, carrying two plates which he promptly set before the teens. Adrien looked in awe at the pancakes that were topped with strawberries, a side of home fries, and a bowl of fruit. Ben grinned at the teens expression.

"Enlighten me on how you know what I was doing last night." Felix drawled as he began to cut into his pancakes. Adrien took this as a sign to go ahead and eat. He smiled as he began to chew the delicious pancake that had been soaked in strawberries.

"I went to grab a glass of water last night and saw that the light was still on. You only leave your light on if you are reading." Ben reminded the stoic teen. "Now do you boys want milk or juice?"

"Milk please" Two voices answered. Felix and Adrien blinked in surprise, causing Ben to laugh.

"Don't bother getting up, we brought the pitcher with us." Kyle called as he carried a tray with three glasses, two mugs and two plates on it. Behind him trailed Eris her own breakfast and the mentioned pitcher in her hand.

"Thanks Ky." Ben smiled and took a plate and mug from his brother. Kyle simply nodded and took a sip from his coffee. Adrien looked at the family Unit and couldn't help but wish for the days when that was him and his parents. Seeing the sad look of his face Eris decided to be bold and draw the teen into a discussion.

"Excuse me Adrien?" Eris softly called. The teen turned his attention to the preteen. She took a breath and steeled her nerves.

"Felix mentioned that you played Piano." Eris stammered out. Adrien smiled at the girl, touched that she was trying to get to know him.

"I do in fact play the Piano. I have been playing since I was six or so." Adrien replied. It was one of the few lessons that he truly enjoyed as it made him feel close to his mother, who was a proficient player.

"That is really cool." Eris said, glad to see him smiling again. Adrien blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What about you Eris, so you play anything?" Adrien inquired wanting to know the shy little girl that seemed to have his cousin wrapped around her finger. Eris nodded her head shyly.

"I have been playing the viola for a year and a half now. I am not that good yet." Eris bashfully answered, ducking her head. Felix resisted the urge to roll his eyes or snort.

"Adrien don't listen to her, Eris is a bit to humble for her own good. She is already a very proficient player." Felix interjected. Eris's blush worsened and she smiled softly at her older brother figure.

"Well maybe you can play for me sometime." Adrien offered. Eris bit her lip and nodded. Felix quirked his lips up glad to see his cousin getting along with his adopted siblings. He just hope that tonight would go well for Nino's and Marinette's sake. Felix paused at the thought before groaning. All other occupants of the dining room looked his way.

"I just realized that I forgot to tell Adrien about tonight." Felix explained with a small blush on his cheek.

"What about tonight?" Adrien asked. Felix opened his mouth to explain, but was beaten to the punch.

"Last night Felix asked on your behalf that you join him for a movie night that will be hosted at the Dupain-Cheng household. He mentioned that it is normal for the guests to stay over for the night. You still are expected to attend your photo shoot tomorrow so you best be bright eyed when I come to pick you up tomorrow." Natalie answered, striding into the room. Adrien's jaw dropped and he turned to Felix wondering how the hell his cousin managed to get Gabriel to agree. Seeing Adrien's baffled expression Felix couldn't help but smirk.

"I brought the request to Uncle Gabriel when he was in a discussion with my mother. She thought it was a brilliant idea, and as you well know…"

"It is not worth the headache to argue with Miss Tiana." Kyle and Ben finished, causing Eris to laugh. The family had learned that rule pretty quickly once they entered into the Bastille's service.

"Thank you." Adrien said to Felix, excited that he was going to stay over at one of his friends house.

"Mari and I thought that you and Alya deserved a full explanation about our group history. We already checked it by Nino and Nate and they are good with it. Just be warned that some won't go into detail. The best way to do that is to invite you to a movie night." Felix explained.

"This is awesome! Is there anything we need to bring? What time should we be there?" Adrien asked dragging his cousin behind him. Felix shook his head. Adrien was acting like a cat with a ball of yarn.

"We just need bring an overnight bag and possibly movies. Mari has food covered. Normally we all get there around 16:00 ( **4 pm** )." Felix answered swiftly. Adrien payed no mind to his cousin too caught up in his excitement. Felix wandered back to his temporary room and sighed _._  Recently Felix had been staying up reading his aunts journals. More like devouring them in truth.

Knowing that if he read more than he wouldn't be able to put the journal down Felix decided to call Nate to hang out. After all the only thing that of interest that had happened was his aunt helping a chinese man. It's not like anything exciting was going to happen soon.

~ ~ ~ With Nathanael ~ ~ ~

Nate sat hunched over a sketch pad carefully working on his drawing. It was his second issue of his ladybug comic, this time with Volpin included. He was trying to nail his costume down.

"Looks good kid." Sinn said from her position above his head. In the short time she had been partnered to Nate she came to adore the artist, with his slightly more hidden snark and his insight on many things.

"Thanks Sinn. You sure you want to come with me tonight?" Nathanael asked his kwami. Sinn nodded.

"Positive. I have a good feeling about tonight. Don't worry so much kit." Sinn reassured her kit. Nathanael rolled his eyes, but still sported a small smile. He set down his pad, satisfied for with the results. Stretching out he hopped that he could find something to occupy his time with until the movie night started.

" _Welcome to our family time_

_Welcome to our brotherly time_

_This is the best of all_

_Ya know the best of all_

_We're here to share it all_ "

Huh well looks like he may not have to look far. Quickly picking up the phone Nathanael greeted his best friend.

"Hey Phoebus, what's going on?" Nathan asked leaning back.

{"Not a huge amount. Adri is bouncing of the wall in excitement."} Felix said. Nate chuckled.

"So why are you calling me? Not that I mind of course." Nate queeried.

{"The King Tut exhibit is closing soon and I wanted to check it out. I was wondering if perhaps you would care to join me, Hiccup?"} Felix proposed. The artist thought it over for a second. It seemed like a good way to spend the day, plus it gave him some one on one time with Felix.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Text me when to meet up and where." Nathanael replied.

{"Will do. Later Robin Hood."} Felix promised, ending the call. Nathanael shook his head with a smile. He then turned to his floating companion.

"So what do you say Sinn, does a trip to the Museum sound like a good way to kill a few hours?" Nate asked. Sinn playfully thought it over before nodded with a mile wide smile. Nate chuckled and got up to get his bag ready. Seems like today was going to be something special.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

"Okay this is actually pretty cool stuff." Felix commented as he looked at the artifacts on display. The boys had been at it for at least an hour. Nathanael had dragged Felix all over the Louvre and then would proceed to sketch a piece that caught his eye. They were finally in the Tut exhibit and Felix couldn't help but be impressed.

"I know right! To think that these artifacts are still in the condition they are after all this time is fascinating." Nathanael replied, a mile wide grin on his face. Felix just shook his head, smiling at his friend's enthusiasm.

"You would love the American Museum of Natural History and Discovery Times Square." Felix said with a chuckle. Nathanael gave his best friend a look.

"First off, I hate that you have already been to both. Second I think that all of the Quads would have wanted to go to check those two out." Nathanael said, sending a glare at his first point and then a smile at the second.

"I will talk to my parents about maybe allowing the four of us to spend some time in New York this summer. Also the museum was great, but it would be a lot more fun to see with my friends." Felix admitted. Nathanael smiled at his friend. He was about to say something when he crashed into someone.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry…." Nathan's eyes widened as he looked at the girl on the ground. She was average height and had a light tan. She had caramel colored hair that fell past her shoulders.

"Hiccup?" Felix softly called to his rapidly paling friend. The girl had gotten up and was about to yell, when she caught sight of the artist's friend.

"Nathanael?" She questioned. Nate just looked at her intensely.

"Rachel." Nate muttered. Felix swore inwardly as the name clicked. Rechel, the ex-girlfriend who broke his friend's heart after using him for her own gain.

"Well I am honestly surprised to see you again,  _Sweetheart._ " Rachel said, putting emphasis on the term of endearment. Nathanael glared at the girl.

"Do not call me that." Nathanael gritted out. Rachel gave a laugh.

"Why ever not? You had no problem with it when we were dating." Rachel said a cruel smirk on her painted lips. Felix stared at this girl. He never thought he would meet someone he disliked more than Chloe. This girl just proved him wrong.

"You mean when you were using me." Nate said with a glare. He couldn't believe that he never saw her true colors.

"Oh please, you aren't over that yet?" Rachel said with a teasing smirk dismissing her misdeeds.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Nathanael asked hoping to end this conversation already. Rachel let out another laugh.

"Oh he is long gone. We realized that we had nothing else to gain from our relationship so we parted ways. It's a shame he was cute." Rachel then raked her eyes over the red haired boy in front of her. "Though I have to say you are much cuter than he was. What do you say do you want to give us another try?" Nathanael glared at her with everything in him before stalking away towards the exit. Felix was about to go after his friend when he heard Rachel let out another comment.

"He takes things way to personally." Felix felt something in him snap. It was time to bring out his inner jerk and leave this girl on ice.

"No you just don't realize how much of a bitch you are." Felix coldly stated. Rachel looked at him enraged.

"How dare you." She hissed. Felix just looked at her. Inwardly he smirked, as she played right into his hands.

"You're right, that was too much." Felix mused. Rachel looked triumphant.

"Thank you." She said smugly. She opened her mouth to say more when Felix held up his hand.

"Calling you a bitch would be an insult to dogs." Felix said his voice flat.

"Excuse me?!" Rachel shrieked.

"You are excused." Felix held up a hand again to halt her response.

"I am done with this conversation anyway. You aren't worth the air it would take to insult you. You have a pretty face, but it won't get you far. The one's stupid enough to fall for your "charms", well they will dump you as soon as the shinier version comes their way. Be grateful for my council. I wasted more air on you than any decent person ever will again." Felix finished his voice devoid of emotion and his words as cold as ice. She wasn't worth his rage or his friends heartbreak.

"Who are you to insult me like that?" Rachel asked. Felix smirked inwardly as he went for the final blow.

"Felix Bastille, the heir to Bastille Industries. Worth more than you ever will be. Have a nice day." Felix walked away once he saw the panic on her face. Once he was far enough way he couldn't help but smirk.

"Damn that felt good." Felix said as he leaned up against a wall. However now the blond was feeling a bit conflicted. Biting into that witch may have been cathartic, but now he had no way of knowing where his friend was. Sure he had some ideas of where Nate would go, but what if he was wrong? He was startled out of his melancholic thoughts when a song blared from his phone.

" _I won't let you fall_

_I won't let you go_

_No matter where you are_

_No matter where you are, I'll be there_

_No matter where you are_

_No matter where you are, I'll be there"_

Felix smiled down at his phone and proceeded to answer the call. She always was good at breaking him from his more destructive thoughts.

{"I felt a disturbance in the force. What happened, where are you, and do I need to create an alibi for you?"} Marinette's worried tone filled his ear. Felix let out a soft chuckle.

"What no asking if I need help burying the body?" Felix teased. He could practically see Marinette rolling her eyes.

{"Pheobus I find it highly unlikely that you would ever kill someone. You find it too messy. If anyone ever pissed you off enough you would want them to live as you unleash your wrath on them and make them  _wish_  they were dead."} Marinette pointed out. Felix couldn't help but laugh at the accurate assessment.

"True enough." Felix joked before losing his humour. He let out a loud sigh as he leaned against the wall once more.

{"Oh no. That is the sigh you make when you have done something you regret but also don't. What happened?"} Marinette's tone became sharp. Felix sighed. He pushed off the wall and began walking towards the exit. Might as well walk and talk.

"Nathanael and I decided to go the King Tut museum. Nathanael was gushing over pieces, and sketching them when in the mood, and I was having fun looking around and reading about the artifacts." Felix started off.

{"I am sensing that the happy mood didn't last."} Marinette said with a sigh.

"We ran into Rachel, his ex." Felix stated bluntly and waited a moment for that piece to sink in.

{"I would be yelling, but she isn't worth the energy. Now what happened?"} Marin all but demanded.

"At first I didn't know who she was until Robin said her name. She flirted with him and told him that she broke up with her boyfriend since neither had anything more to gain from their relationship. She shrugged off what she did and asked if he wanted to try again." Felix said recalling her comments.

{"I would call her a bitch but that's an insult to dogs."} Marinette muttered. Felix couldn't help but laugh.

"I said the exact same thing." Felix said with a small grin. It warmed his heart that he and Marinette could be alike without even knowing it.

{"You went full on Ice Prince on her, didn't you?"} Marinette questioned. Felix smiled ruefully.

"I did. And then when she asked who I was to insult her I told her exactly who I was." Felix admitted.

{"Damn. I wish I could have seen that."} Marinette cursed, causing Felix to laugh again.

"The only problem is that because I stayed to take her down I lost track off Hiccup." Felix said, feeling a lot more somber.

{"Damn she must have said something that truly set you off."} Marinette muttered. Felix was protective of those he cared for and usually didn't let insults get to him. For Felix to decide not to go after Nathanael, showed just how bad it was.

"I will tell you about it tonight, that is after I track down our missing artist." Felix promised.

{"Is there anything you need from me?"} Marinette asked. Felix hesitated for a second before answering.

"I am not sure where to start looking for Nathanael." Felix admitted softly.

{"Take a second to calm down. Start with what you know. Is there anyway that Nathanael would still be inside?"} Marinette inquired.

"No. He was headed straight to the exit last time I saw him." Felix replied.

{"Alright well think about Nathanael and what's he feeling."} Marinette prompted.

"Nathanael would be overwhelmed so he would go somewhere where he could gather his thoughts. A place that is quiet and where he feels that he can relax." Felix thought outloud.

{"But Nate isn't someone that is comfortable in a place that he is unfamiliar with and while he loves the outdoors he isn't one to sit on a bench to gather his thoughts."} Marinette interjected.

Felix took a second to think but then the perfect place came to him.

"I think I know where he went." Felix said, turning on his heel.

{"well done Bagheera. Now go track our red head down. I want you both here at 16:00 ( **4 pm** )."} Marinette playfully ordered.

"Understood. And Marinette thanks."

{"Not a problem. See you soon White Rabbit."} Marinette reassured.

Until then, Alice." Felix replied, using her first nickname. The beeping signalling the end of the call.

Felix took a breath and picked up the pace. He now had the courage to move forward and if Nathanael wasn't there than Felix would just keep searching. After all that's what a friend does.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

"I don't want to talk about it Sinn." Nathanael sighed as he gazed at his Kwami partner.

"Kit, I am not going to say anything other than I am here for you and that she wasn't worthy of you in any sense of the word." Sinn stated firmly. Nathanael summoned up a weak smile touched at his partner's words. The fox smiled back and nuzzled his hand before darting back into his jacket.

Nathan sighed before entering into the building. He quickly found a seat and stared up as he fought the dark emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him.

Why did she show up now? Things were going amazing and he was finally getting over what happened and then she came and he felt like he did a year ago. Hurt, angry, broken, and above all worthless. He was so caught up in his dark thoughts that he didn't realize that he wasn't alone until a voice spoke up.

"Whatever you are thinking, stop."

Nate turned his head and saw Felix sitting behind him.

"Wha- How?" Nathanael sputtered surprised that his friend was here. Felix gave a half smile. He looked around the interior of the building that Nathanael chose as his sanctuary.

"How did you find me?" Nathanael asked finally over his surprise. Felix tore his eyes from his surroundings.

"I knew you couldn't have gotten far and I inferred that you wanted a place to think. And then I remembered Sainte Chapelle was only a short walk away. You would have spent hours here just sketching if we let you. It was always one of your favorites." Felix explain, taking in the gothic styled church. It was one of the more famous churches of Paris especially with breathtaking stained glass windows.

"Did you also guess that I, perhaps, wanted to be  _alone_?" Nathanael asked, putting emphasis on the last word.

"I knew that you would want to be alone." Felix looked at his friend with a humorless smile. "I also know that leaving you by yourself, after what happened, would be the worst possible course of action. Your own mind can sometimes be your worst enemy."

"Then why didn't you follow me earlier?!" Nathanael asked making sure to keep his volume down. At this Felix looked sheepish.

"There were two reasons for my delay. The first was that I  _may_  have had a…" Felix paused trying to find the right word, "Discussion with Rachel." The blond looked away turning slightly pink.

Nathanael blinked at his friend, not understanding what his friend was getting at. It was only when he saw his friends blush that the words sunk in. A smile tugged at the artist's lips.

"You unleashed your inner jerk on my ex." Nathanael said in slight awe. Felix gave a wry smile and nodded. Nate now wished he had stuck around. It would have been nice to see Rachel brought down a few pegs. It allowed some of the dark emotions to loosen their grip on his thought process. Still he couldn't help but think that Rachel was right and that he was just a loser. Felix could see the darkness creeping back and decided to act fast.

"The second reason is a bit more personal. I was unsure if I would actually know where to find you." Felix confessed and scratched his cheek.

Nathanael's mouth fell open. His friend who rarely hesitated did so because of him? And more surprising, was willingly admitting to it?

"I know, it doesn't sound like me at all." Felix sighed and steadied his mind. "Our group has changed so much. We are all different people who have all experiences that have shaped us. To be honest I don't think that I could have handled going after you and not being able to locate you."

Nate was beyond touched that his friend was admitting this. Felix would own up to his mistakes almost all the time, but rarely did he willingly let himself appear weak, even among friends. The exception of course being Marinette and even that wasn't often.

"What changed your mind?" Nathanael asked softly. A bright smile lit up Felix's expression.

"Swan has always had a knack for knowing when I need her council." Felix chuckled. "She called me up and told me she felt a disturbance in the force."

Nathanael couldn't help but laugh at the pop culture reference. Looking at his equally amused friend, Nate realized that he while he could still hear his demons whispering, they weren't nearly as loud. Instead he heard the voices of his friends giving him encouragement.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of all the combo's of hero pairing Chat and Mari is my favorite so I wanted to make sure that they had a few moments to shine.
> 
> "Welcome" by Phil Collins. There is the remixed version, the Phil Collins version, and the Blind Boys of Alabama version. Your choice which one fits best. Don't own.
> 
> Those Museums actually exist. The first is really amazing and the second has had some great exhibits that I have had the pleasure of going to.
> 
> It took me a while to get the confrontation scene right.
> 
> "No Matter Where You Are" by us Duo is Felix's ring tone. I cannot express how much I adore this song. While it is romantic in nature it also can be applied to friendship. Honestly it fits the two perfectly. Don't own.
> 
> I am a Star Wars geek and proud. Don't own.
> 
> Honestly think that Marinette and Felix could get away with practically anything as long as they have each other.
> 
> Google this church. It is something to behold and is only a short 15 minute walk to the Louvre.
> 
> Result of Felix's outfit Poll: Yes wins so I am creating a new outfit.
> 
> A big thanks to all those that reviewed, left kudos, followed, bookmarked, favorited and read my story.


	20. Rehashing and Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my story ideas and Original Characters.
> 
> {“_”} - this means phone call

* * *

“These are delicious Marinette!” Tikki praised biting into the soft gooey chocolate chip cookie. Marinette smiled at her friend.

“Thanks Tikki. Now try to save some for the rest of my friends.” Marinette playfully warned. Tikki just giggled. She was glad to see her partner in such high spirits.

_Knock, knock, knock._

The sound caused both occupants to look up. Marinette checked the clock but saw that it was still a half an hour before any of her friends were told to arrive. Motioning her friend to hide, Marinette answered the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the blonde in front of her.

“A-Adrien!” Marinette stuttered. Thankfully she didn’t flail around like she did the first time Adrien came over unexpectedly.

“Hey Marinette!” Adrien said with a wave. “I know I am a bit early, but I thought that maybe you could use a hand.”

Marinette smiled at the model, touched by his concern. It was the reason that she fell for him in the first place after all.

“That was really sweet of you. I am almost done, but an extra hand would be nice. Come on in.” Marinette said opening the door wider. Adrien grinned as he walked into the living room and placed his bag near the coach.

“So what can I do to help?” Adrien asked. While he did come to offer his assistance he also wanted to talk with his friend one-on-one.

“Well the food is already prepared, but I definitely could use a hand setting up the living room.” Marinette mused.

“Well that should be no issue for the two of us.” Adrien said, grinning. Marinette was struck with a sense of deja vu, as if she had seen that particular grin before. Shaking her head she returned the grin. The two chatted as they pushed around the furniture and set up two air mattresses and grabbed plenty of pillows and blankets.

“You know you can call me Mari or Mare.” Marinette stated once their task was done. Adrien’s head shot towards her.

“Excuse me?” Adrien asked, puzzled what made her say that. Marinette shrugged.

“You always call me by my full name.” Marinette’s eyes widened as she realized that  her words were to vague, she then began to wave her arms in front of her.

“N-not that I have an issue with that! I-it’s just that….” Marinette paused and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “All of my friends are welcome to call me that. I just want you to know that, as my friend, so are you.” Marinette said a light blush blooming. Adrien look at the designer in awe before smiling wide.

“Thanks, Mari.” Adrien said, testing out the name. Marinette lightly blushed but gave Adrien a brilliant smile.

“Awe aren’t you two adorable!”

Marinette and Adrien turned to see Alya and Nino in the doorway. Alya had a cat-ate-the-canary grin at the fact that the two of them were so close. Nino looked amused, but less so than his girlfriend.

Instead of getting embarrassed, like she usually would in any situation involving Adrien, she decided to turn the situation around. Specifically on her best friend’s boyfriend. Getting up from the couch, the designer threw an arm over Nino’s shoulder. Shooting him a grin, Marinette enacted her plan. “Not as cute as Nino was when I managed to dress him up in-”

“Belle I am begging you do not finish that sentence for the sake of my pride.” Nino cut Marinette off. Alya looked eager to learn more embarrassing stories about her Beau and Adrien was just glad the attention was off of him.

“While I am still a bit peeved at Nino, I will also plead for what little pride he has left.” A voice called. The group whipped around to see Nathanael in the doorway. Marinette grinned and pounced on the artist giving him a big hug.

“I am glad you are here.” Marinette whispered. Nathanael didn’t reply. He only squeezed her harder and gave a grateful smile.

“I am feeling a bit envious. Where is my hug?” Felix said entering the room. Marinette rolled her eyes before launching herself into her friends arms. Felix swung Mare around making her squeal as the others Quads laughed.

“You guys can put your bags in my room until later. Any movies you brought put on the table.” Marinette directed once she was released. The rest of the teens did as she said, only Alya had brought a film. Once they were all back in the living room the group grabbed food.

“This is delicious!” Adrien said as he cleaned off his plate.

“Thanks, Adrien. You can thank Felix as he was the one that demanded this particular dish.”

“I can see why. Its official. You and Nino need to start cooking more often.” Alya said letting out a moan.

“High praise from someone who’s mother is a professional chef.” Nathanael teased. This got the rest laughing as Alya blushed. The chicken salad was quickly polished up and the dishes cleared. The teens plopped on the cushions.

“Well now that we are fed we have a few options: Watch a movie, play a game, or explain a but more about our past. As first time comers you two get to choose.” Felix said looking at Adrien and Alya.

Startled the two looked at one another and started to discuss it. Once they figured out the plan of action they looked at the Quad. Alya took a breath “After a bit of consideration we decided to watch a movie first and then learn a bit more about your past.”

The teens internally sagged with relief, but outwardly just nodded. They weren’t ready to bare their souls quite yet.

“Since it’s my house I get first pick. As long as I get a majority vote we watch. If rejected than someone else choses.” Marinette explained to Adrien and Alya.

“Don’t keep us waiting.” Nino called. Mare sent the D.J a playful glare.

“I am feeling musical so I propose _Hercules_.” Marinette said, hoping that it would get passed.

“I am always down for the Muses girl. You’ve got my vote.” Alya pipped in.

“As her boyfriend I am obligated to vote yes.” Nino said, dodging a pillow and Alya’s glare.

“A movie with plenty of sass. Heck yeah.” Nathanael replied.

“Sounds good to me Mare” Adrien said.

“Seems like a we have an unanimous vote. Good choice Alice.” Felix finished. Marinette grinned before starting the movie. She snuggled up to Felix. It was a good way to start the night. She only hoped that it didn’t end up crashing and burning.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

It turned out to be the perfect movie to start the night off. The quad and their guests all hade smiles on their faces as the credits rolled.

“Well as enjoyable as this is I suggest we start the discussions of our past.” Felix said stiffly. He didn’t want to do this again but for the sake of his friends he would.

“Are you sure?” Adrien asked hesitantly. As much as he wanted answers he knew that the topics would be uncomfortable for the teens.

“Better to get it over with quickly. Just keep in mind that we might not go into too much detail.” Nathanael warned. Adrien and Alya were cool, but they weren’t quad. Alya and Adrien nodded.

“Well I propose we get changed into our night clothing. Alya you can change in my room, boys can use the guest room.” Marinette said surging to her feet.

Adrien changed into a pair of black pajama pants and a green t-shirt. He saw that Nino was in a pair of blue pajama pants and a white tank with a slateboard clapper on it. Nathanael’s was wearing black sweats with pallets and a purple shirt that said ‘ _What you call Vandalism, I call Street Art_ ’ styled like it was sprayed on. His cousin was wearing a green shirt that said ‘221B’ and a pair of baggy Hogwarts sweats.

“Why am I not surprised you have Sherlock merchandise?” Nathanael asked.

“Because unlike the normal rabble you actually use your brain.” Felix volleyed back.

Alya laughed at her rivals wit. She had donned a grey shirt with a lavender M on it and a Pair of purple, black, and white plaid sleep shorts. When Marinette came down the Quad all laughed.

“That is perfect.” Nino said gesturing to Marinette's outfit. She had changed into a pair of gray yoga pants and her red shirt said _‘Oh my Quad_ ’.

“I thought you would get a kick out of that.” Marinette said with a laugh. Alya and Adrien squashed down the feeling of envy. The group got comfortable but the silence was deafening.

“I lost my Grandfather the summer after Felix left.” Nino stated breaking the silence.   
“My Grandfather was the person I was closest to. He taught me to cook, was the one who encouraged my love of music, and who told me that I could be a director. He was my biggest supporter in my family. His death was one of the hardest events of my life.” Nino said blinking tears away. Adrien rubbed his best friends back as Alya squeezed her boyfriend’s hand. Flashing them a smile Nino continued his story.

“I couldn’t handle the fact that I lost two of my most important people and was drifting from the two friends I had left. I didn’t want to feel that kind of pain, so I pushed Nathanael and Mare away. I pushed so hard that I somewhat forgot what it was like to have them in my life. It wasn’t until recently that the wounds began to heal.” Nino said with a watery chuckle.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Adrien asked his best bro.

“Your friendship was one of the biggest reasons I was able to heal bro. I was afraid that if you knew how damaged I was, that I would lose you as a friend.” Nino admitted. The model pulled the DJ into a hug.

“Not possible. You are stuck with me.” Adrien said softly.

“My cousin is right. We have your back Sebastian.” Felix said. Nino flashed the teens a grateful smile, happy that he was surrounded by friends.

“I will go next.” Nathanael said once the tears had been dried.

“You don’t have to.” Marinette quickly reassured, grabbing the artist’s hand.

“I know.” Nathanael said, intertwining his hand with Mare’s. “I want to.” The designer nodded and kept her hand where it was.

“The summer after Felix left I won a contest where the prize was a summer internship at the Louvre. I was working under Mr. Kubdel with a lot of other student’s. One of them was named Rachel.” Nathanael paused, still overwhelmed about the events of the afternoon. “Rachel later on asked me out.”

“What?!” Alya shouted.

“Whoa, did not see that coming.” Adrien muttered. Nathanael would have laughed at their expressions any other time, but honestly he couldn’t.

“I reacted the same. This beautiful, artistic girl was interested in plain old me.” Nathanael said, shaking his head at his naivety.

“There is _nothing_ plain about you Hiccup. You are amazing and I will not listen to you beat yourself up.” Marinette interjected quickly. She could see the scars that were left a lot more clearly now and refused to ignore them. Nate simply squeezed her hand, and continued the story.

“I fell for her hard and fast. I was determined to not let our relationship be a simple summer fling. Turns out I was fooling myself the entire time.” Nathanael muttered darkly. He sprung to his feet and began to pace.

“She had a boyfriend who did the internship the year before and told her that the student that does the best gets extra credit for their school. Rachel realized that I had the best chances of winning so she decided to sabotage my chances by turning me into a lovesick fool. I believed her every word right up until the big reveal. I am such a moron!” Nathanael exclaimed.

“You made a mistake. I would hardly classify that as the determining factor of your intelligence.” Felix drawled. Nathanael lightly chuckled, he brushed a few tears away and returned to his seat.

“My pride and heart were wounded and I couldn’t muster up the courage to tell anyone what happened. I withdrew into myself and rebuffed all efforts that Belle made to reach out.”

“I am sorry that you had to deal with that Nathanael.” Adrien said. “I have had to deal with a lot of fakes due to my job. I am actually respect you for the fact that you have the courage to even tell us.” The artist nodded his thanks.

“She was a bitch.” Alya simply said.

“ALYA!” Marinette and Nino exclaimed.

“It’s the truth. If I ever see her I will tell that to her face. She didn’t deserve a sweetheart like you.”

“Thanks but Felix beet you to it.” Nathanael said with a laugh. He started laughing harder at his friends reactions to the news.

“Later.” Marinette said firmly, before anyone could ask.“We still need to get through our stories. I don’t know about you, but after this I need a breather.”

“Second that.” Nino said, though he was burning with curiosity.  

“I will go next.” Felix said. The other Quads nodded their consent.

“When I got to America I was feeling very much alone. Joe had gotten promoted and my parents were busier than ever. When my family hired Benjamin and Kyle, I couldn’t care less. It took a long time until I opened up to the Moray family, mostly due to Eris. School was a nightmare as I was surrounded by pretentious snobs who didn’t understand the true value of work or friendship. I took solace in fencing, music, and swimming, but I couldn’t bring myself to act. Without my friends the stage lost its appeal. In short I was miserable. It was only when I got news of my parents plans to move back that I actually felt like myself again.” Felix said.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Adrien asked, hurt that his cousin hid so much.

“Adrien you were dealing with your own problems, I didn’t want to burden you with mine.” Felix answered. He loved his cousin, but he was never one to lay his problems on others, Marinette being the large exception.

“I wasn’t always as withdrawn as I was when I met you Alya.” Marinette stated suddenly. “I was never afraid to speak my mind, especially to Chloe. That changed when we got a new deputy headmaster. He was a major suck up and one day when he saw me laying into Chloe he threatened me with suspension. My parents tried to fight it, but to no anvil. The boys tried to protest but they were threatened with suspension as well if they continued. Eventually I just stopped trying to fight back, it wasn’t worth it to me anymore.” Marinette said softly wiping away some tears.

“When school started up the fall I tried to reconnect with Genie and Robin, but I was continuously shot down. Eventually they both told me to stop trying to make something out of nothing. I didn’t want to. I had every intention of continuing my fight to get my friends back, but something changed.” Marinette paused, remembering that horrible afternoon. “I decided to do as they asked and we drifted apart right up until Felix walked through the door.” Nino look at the designer in sympathy, knowing exactly what was going on in her head. He was proud that she was willing to tell the others her secret and understood exactly how hard it was.

“Anyone up for another movie?” Adrien asked after a few minutes of silence. The group laughed and nodded, glad to have a distraction from their previous talk.

“I say comedy.” Alya voiced.

“Miss Alya you aren’t going to meet any opposition from me.” Felix stated.

“How about _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_?” Nathanael offered.

“I don’t think I have seen that one.” Adrien mused. Felix and Marinette shared a look.

“We’re watching it.” They said in unison. Nino chuckled before getting up and putting in the disk. One truth was out of the way. Now one more to go.

~ ~ ~ Time Skip ~ ~ ~

“That was awesome.” Adrien said as the credits began to roll.

“I know right. It was an awesome use of live action meets animation. Plus it has a lot of cultural significance.” Nino supplied. Alya looked at her boyfriend and then to her best friend.

“Is he always like this?” The reporter asked. Nathanael snorted and Marinette gave him a look.

“Nino can get excited about certain films, especially the special effects. Honestly this is minor in comparisons to some of the rants he has done.” Mare said with a shrug.

“Good to know.” Adrien murmured.

“Jerks.” Nino muttered, crossing his arms. It wasn’t his fault that movies fascinated him.

“Settle down Nino. Alright, Now that our second film is over we get to a game that we play for when we have a guest at our Saturday movie nights. It’s called, an absolute fact.” Felix stated.

“What is it?” Adrien asked. Felix flashed his cousin a grin.

“It is a game that Mare and I invented to get to know Nino and Nathanael better. The two of us already knew each other fairly well, but we needed to get to know the others.” Felix explained.

“So that it wasn’t just Nino and Nathanael sharing information we decided to include that everyone had to share one lesser known fact or story with the group. Eventually Nino and Nate became an integral part of our group so we revoked their guest tittle, but promised that if we ever had guests that they would be subjected to a similar experience to them.” Mare continued the explanation.

“We decided to be generous. Everyone only has to share one fact tonight.” Nino added, sharing a glance with Marinette. Her fact will definitely catch everyone by surprise. “Any volunteers?”

“I’ll go.” Nathanael piped up. “I already have the perfect story. So you remember when I said that Felix beat you to it Alya?”

“What about it?” Alya said intrigued.

“Well, Felix and I were at the Louvre earlier and guess who we would run, literally, into?”  Nathanael asked, feeling a lot more at ease.

“No.” Nino said wide eyed.

“Oh yes. My ex- girlfriend Rachel decided to ruin the outing with her appearance. She said a lot of things that I am not going to repeat. I decide to book it, wanting to be alone. Felix was going to follow, but Rachel decided to poke the bear. She got frost bitten by our resident ice king.”  Nathanael said smiling. He couldn’t help but chuckle at what Felix had said.

“What did you say?” Adrien asked. He knew that his cousin could be brutal when he went all out.

“I called her a bitch and then said that that was rude. Calling her a bitch was an insult to dogs.” Felix admitted with a smirk. Nino started cackling.

“I wish that I could have seen that. What happened next?” Nino said turning to his partner in crime.

“I went to Sainte Chapelle to gather my thoughts. Felix eventually tracked me down and told me what happened. I kinda wish that I could have seen it as well.” Nathanael finished the story. He didn’t really want to rehash his demons again.

“Props to you _OMalley_.” Alya said with a smirk. Felix glared at the bespecalled girl. It was on.

“Seems we have our next volunteer. What do you say _Miss_ Alya?” Felix challenged. Alya glared at the blond, but decided to get it over with. She took a second to think of what story would be appropriate before looking at her Majesta themed shirt and it came to her.

“I love comics and reporting, but you already knew that.” Alya said with a smile. “What you don’t know that I didn’t get into comic books until a year before I moved to Paris.”

The teens all shared a look of surprise. With how much Alya knew and loved comics they had believed that she had been into them for much longer.

“I just never saw the appeal. I was more into reporting and didn’t have time for fantasy worlds.” Alya said shaking her head at her past self. “Honestly if it weren’t for a kid at my old school I don’t think I would have ever been interested.”

“What changed your opinion?” Nino asked, not taking his eyes off his girlfriend.

“I got bullied.”

A simple statement, but it held more power than most.

“What?” Marinette asked softly.

“Surprising, but some of the girls didn’t appreciate my style or my enthusiasm for journalism. They teased me relentlessly and at the time I didn’t have my confidence at the time. I remember coming home in tears more than one occasion. I just didn’t know how to handle it.” Alya brushed away a few tears as she remembered the emotional storm she had gone through. Then a smile came to her face as she remembered how that changed.

“I don’t know what would have happened if I weren’t for Bay. She came out of nowhere one day and just told the bullies to back off. They were speechless and I was touched. Life was good, but then the mean girls shifted their gaze to Bay.”

Nino and Nathanael clenched their fists and tried hard not to look at Marinette. Their memories played as they remembered what Chloe had put their tough as nails friend through. It tore them up that another  of their female friends went through something similar. All men in the room sighed thinking the same thing: females were scary.

“They went after her without mercy. I watched my strong friend lose a lot of confidence. It tore me up. I remember going onto a forum and just pouring my heart out. I did it to get it out. I never thought I would get a reply.” Alya chuckled. “ The person quoted Majestica.”

“‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing’.” Alya and Marinette quoted in unison each remembering how they first met.

“That line changed my life. I stood up for myself and Bay and anyone else from that day on. I also fell in love with comics and how they could inspire those that read them.” Alya said smiling brightly. She was them engulfed in a hug by Marinette.

“That was a really great story. Thank you for sharing.” The designer said with tears in her eyes. When she released her friend Alya went over to Nino and curled up in his embrace. The story took a lot out of her, but she was glad that she told it.

“I think that I will go next. If that’s alright with you all.” Nino said softly rubbing Alya’s back. He needed to talk about it and he also need to give Marinette more time to prepare.

“You all know that I don’t have the greatest relationship with my parents.” Nino said looking as his friends nod. The DJ loved his parents, but they were always arguing with each other and it made it hard to listen to it all the time. It was part of the reason he always listened to him music loud. It help drown out the raised voices of his parents during their arguments.

“They recently told me some news and I have been struggling with how to deal with it.” Nino took a breath.

“My parents are getting a divorce.” Nino said out loud for the first time.

“Oh Genie.” Nathanael said with sad eyes.

“Nino I am so sorry. When did you find out?” Adrien asked. His friend had been over the manor a lot once he got the okay from Gabriel. The model knew that Nino was having a tough time at home, but he didn’t think it was this bad.

“They told me last Sunday. They also told me that they were going to court to decide who gets custody of me.” Nino said with a sigh.

“How mature of them.” Felix muttered. Alya shot him a glare, but Nino just smiled at his friend.

“Sebastian I just want you to know that you always have a place to crash here at the bakery. I already think of you as a brother and my parents love you.” Marinette said taking ahold of his hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I will probably be taking you up on that offer at least a couple of times.” Nino said weakly. “However that isn’t the only news.”

“What else is there?” Alya questioned, rubbing her beau’s back.

“Earlier today I was another piece of news. A relative has returned.” Nino said with a half a smile.

“Who… No way.” Nathan said in disbelief.

“She’s back, eh?” Felix asked with a small smile.

“Who are you talking about?” Adrien asked.

“My older sister Kayla.” Nino said with a bigger smile. She was his favorite relative after his grandfather and equal to her son Chris.

“You have a sister?” Alya asked.

“How come we’ve never heard of her?” Adrien asked.

“My sister is more than a decade older than me, so she wasn’t around as much. When I was younger my sister got pregnant just after she graduated college. My dad was furious and Kayla refused to give up her baby. He kicked her out. Mom sent her to my Gramps and contacted him. She moved to get a job and support her son, Chris. We met up at grandfather’s house whenever we could. I grew pretty close to my nephew. He’s a cool little dude.” Nino said.

“He’s an absolute sweetheart.” Marinette said with a smile.

“Anyway she is back in town, with a job offer to Bastille Industries.” Nino said, making Felix’s eyes widen at the new piece of info. “And she is also offered me a home with her if I ever want it.”

“I am happy for you, Nino.” Marinette said giving her friend a hug. Felix cleared his throat.

“Speaking of families I have decided to tell you about how I became close to the Moray’s and got adopted as an honorary brother.” Felix said, smiling freely at the memory.

“Oh good I was wondering how the hell they managed to get past your walls.” Nathanael stated, drawing out a laugh from the group.

“Actually it was because of the Quad.” Felix said with a wry smile.

“Huh?” Nino asked.

“I was pretty frigid when I met the Morays. They took care of me, but the didn’t like me much. But then Eris stumbled upon a photo album. Ben swears that it was the first time that he ever saw me smile since living with them.”

Marinette straightened up. The quad had identical albums made during their last summer together. The one Felix mentioned was the same one she showed her Kwami the day Felix came back.

“I spent the rest of the day talking about the quad and our various adventures. I even mentioned you, Adri and our twin switches. It was the first that we began to actually care for one another.” Felix said, even countries away his friends helped him.

“I opened up slowly, but they could alway get me to talk whenever they asked questions about you guys, especially Marinette. I didn’t tell them everything. Some of those stories belong solely to Quad.” The other three laughed thinking about some of their more embarrassing moments over the years. Those would never be shared with the public.

“Eris actually used to sneak into the room to listen to me play, eventually I get tired of ignoring her and told her to just ask. Eventually I encouraged her to take up viola lessons and helped her out where I could. She was the one who proclaimed me her big brother. Ben and Kyle went along with it. Ben taught me to fence and Kyle was the one who introduced me to swimming to release tension, along with a few different fighting arts.” Felix said.

“Bro I am torn with being touched at the story or impressed by the fact that you might end up with the shortest absolute truth tonight.” Nino said with a shake of his head.

“Thank you I do try.” Felix said with a smirk. The Quad just shook their head and laughed.

“Mare do you mind if I go next?” Adrien asked the designer. He wanted to share his fact before he lost his nerve.

“No not at all.” Marinette replied, inwardly cheering as the inevitable was once again put off. Her friends, besides Nino, were going to flip.

Adrien pondered for a moment, pondering how to phrase it right. Finally he decided to share a story to get his point across.

“So you all know how I model for my father’s line and occasionally end up working with others?” Adrien asked.

“Yes, Manon has the shoot you did plastered on her wall.” Marinette said with a smile. While she had been bummed initially, she was glad her young friend had such a great time.

“Right well anyway, last year I was in Athens at a shoot. It was me and one other person, Taylor. The weather delayed us for a few days so I got to know Taylor pretty well. We weren’t friends but it was nice to not have to work with yet another stuck up model.” Adrien said remembering the trip and what he had learned, mostly about himself.

“Where are you going with this?” Felix asked his cousin. This story didn’t make a lot of sense to him.

“At the end of the shoot, before we left Taylor took me aside. I waved Gorilla and Natalie off so they didn’t see or else I am pretty sure it would have ended badly.” Adrien said mostly to himself.

“What would have ended badly?” Nathanael asked, wondering what the point of this story was.

“I had thought they meant to exchange numbers or to say goodbye privately.” Adrien said, now mostly rambling.

“What?” Alya asked impatiently. She may regard the model as her friend, but he was taking too long to get to the point.

“Taylor kissed me. They were my very first kiss,” Adrien said.

There was a beat of silence. Marinette beat down the surge of irrational jealousy. Honestly she hadn’t even known Adrien back then. She took a breath and then looked at Adrien. She blinked and looked closer. The way that Adrien was on edge told her that there was more than just what the blond was saying. She thought for a moment before thinking a very odd idea. It seemed unlikely, but something was telling her to ask anyway.

“Was Taylor a girl or a boy?” Marinette asked softly. The rest of the teens froze. They turned to Adrien.

“I was wondering who was going to ask.” Adrien said with a shake of his head. “Taylor was a guy.”

That statement floored the teens.

“Bro!”

“Well that was unexpected.”

“WHAT?!”

Adrien winced. Yeah this was why he wasn’t so sure about this particular fact, but he felt that it was fair. The rest of the group was willing to let the others in so why shouldn’t he.

“People give my cousin a moment. I don’t think that the story is at an end quite yet.” Felix said trying to calm the others. He was just as surprised, he just had a better poker face.

“Thanks Feels. He is right that there is more for me to share.” Adrien said taking a breath.

“Whatever it is you can trust us. The knowledge doesn’t leave the group unless with your permission.” Marinette reassured her romantic interest. He nodded in acknowledgement.

“Taylor said that he kissed me because I was the first cute model that he worked with that didn’t have a horrible personality. He said that he didn’t want me to feel like I had to return his feelings. He just wanted me to know before we parted ways. When I was trying to figure out what to say Natalie found me and dragged me away before I could reply. Before I left he said that he figured that I wasn’t into guys.” Adrien continued think of how much time he spent analyzing those few short minutes.

“Was he wrong?” Nino asked what everyone wanted to know. Adrien gave the group a soft smile.

“I spent countless hours trying to answer that question myself. I figured out an answer a little after I started school here.” Adrien said with a chuckle. It was thanks to Ladybug that he had his answer.

“And that answer is?” Alya asked, ignoring the looks she received from Marinette and Nino.

“I am bisexual. I like girls and guys, but prefer girls for the most part.” Adrien said.

“I am really glad that you trusted us enough to tell us this Adrien.” Marinette said. Inwardly she was celebrating. Seems like she still had a chance after all.

“That took guts. I have to say I am impressed.” Nathanael said, with a shake of his head.

“You are still my Bro Adrien. Your sexuality doesn’t change that.” Nino said with a shrug.

“You’re my friend and I accept you no matter what.” Alya said with a smile. Adrien smiled before stealing a glance at his cousin.

“Thanks for the support. To be honest I wasn’t sure how you all were going to react, but I thought that I should take a chance.” Adrien said rubbing the back of his neck. Felix looked at his cousin and sighed.

“Adri you are my cousin and I will love and support you always. I would never judge you. While I am a little hurt that you didn’t think that, I am more touched that you trusted me enough to share.” Felix said pulling his cousin into a hug. He pretended not to notice Adrien shedding a few tears.

Looking at her friends Marinette screwed her courage. If the boy who held her heart could trust them with his secret, than se would do the same.

“Alright Swan your up. Though  I don’t think that you can top Adrien’s.” Nathanael said a few minutes later.

“Don’t bet on it.” Marinette muttered to herself. After getting an encouraging smile from Nino ripped the metaphorical band aid off.

“There is really no easy way for me to tell you this so I am just going to come right out and say it.” Marinette took a deep breath. “I am adopted.” Marinette closed her eyes.

There was a moment of silence. She opened her eyes. Did they not hear her?

“WHAT!!!!!!!!????”

Never mind.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who saw that coming?
> 
> I will explain more in the next chapter.
> 
> A big thanks to all those that reviewed, left kudos, followed, bookmarked, favorited and read my story.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola~
> 
> So I have a lot of you on the edge of your seats so I am gonna get right to the explanation in this chapter. I think that people will be happy.
> 
>  
> 
> I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir or anything else besides my story ideas and Original Characters.
> 
> Oh heads up. You may want to reread the last chapter as I reference it a lot.

 

**~Before the sleepover~**

Tikki was nibbling on a cookie as she waited for the last bag to be delivered to Marinette’s room. Her partner had reassured her that once the sleepover started no one would be upstair for a good hour and a half. Tikki had decided to invite Wayzz over, with Marinette’s permission, to keep her company. She doubted that she would see any of her fellow Kwamis soon any other way.

“Finally I never thought he would leave.” Came a very familiar voice. 

Tikki froze and peaked from behind her hiding spot. Their floating above Adrien’s bag was her bad luck counterpart. While she had guessed that Adrien was Chat Noir it was another thing entirely for it to be confirmed. She was both dreading and looking forward to when Marinette found out.

“Oh come on! That pretty boy is the clumsy cat?!” A voice exclaimed. 

Tikki’s jaw dropped as she took in the sight of Sinnopa glaring at Plagg. Apparently she was off her mark today.

“Oh lighten up you fussy ball of fur.” Plagg whined. Sinnopa glared and opened her mouth to retort when Wayzz floated in. 

“Wayzz?” Sinnopa asked. It had been a good century since she last saw him.

“Sinnnoa, Plagg, it is good to see you again my friends.” Wayzz smiled, but was inwardly puzzled. He was not expecting to see his friends, nor did he think that Tikki was.

“Whatca doing her shells?” Plagg asked. The black cat made himself comfortable.

“I was invited over.” Wayzz replied.

“By who?” Sinn questioned. Taking this as her cue Tikki came out of her hiding spot. She watch in delight as her friends surprise melted into joy.

“Tiiiikkkiiiiiii!” Sin squealed as she pulled her friend into a tight hug. The ladybug just giggled and hugged her friend back.

“It’s been too long Sinn. By the fact that your here, I dare say that makes Nathanael your new partner.” Tikki mused. Honestly now that she thought about it it was quite obvious.

“Yes Master Fu thought that the young artist would be a good match with the clever fox.” Wayzz informed the group. He floated down to sit in Marinette’s lounge chair.

“The kid’s okay but, my boy Adrien has taken to the superhero life like a pro.” Plagg bragged.

“Really because apparently he has ended up being controlled by numerous akumas since you started.” Sinnopa taunted. Plagg glared at her and was about to retort when Tikki floated between them.

“Enough you too! Plagg we are all happy with who we have as partners. Each of them suit us well.” Tikki stared at her counterpart until her nodded. She then turned and glared at a smirking Sinn. “Sinnopa you have no right to judge. Chat gets caught in those situations mostly due to the fact that he will do anything to protect Ladybug.” Properly chastised both Kwamis turned away. 

“You have always had a gift for tempering those two.” Wayzz whispered to his friend. She shot him a grateful smile. 

“So what are we gonna do all night? We can’t move around freely and I am hungry.” Plagg whined. Tikki giggled and then made her way over to her dish. She uncovered it to show cookies, blueberries, cheese cubes, and apple slices.

“Marinette had thought of that so she created a platter for all of us. She didn’t know who was coming so she decided to add dishes for each of us.” Tikki said smiling at their gobsmacked expression.

“How thoughtful of her. She really is a perfect partner for you.” Wayzz mused before picking up a apple slice.

“It is not camembert but it beats going hungry.” Plagg grabbed a cube and promptly stuffed it in her face.

“I can see why my human is so infatuated. She is a sweet girl. Nathanael is going to be a lucky man once he captures her heart,” Sinnopa mentioned. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! If anyone's going to get the girl is going to be Adrien. The kids been in love with Ladybug from the get go.” Plagg argued. The rivals glared and launched into a tirade over who is a better fit for Marinette. 

Tikki and Wayzz shared an amused glance. They would never change.

~ ~ ~ _Time Skip_ ~ ~ ~

Tikki perked up as she heard footsteps approaching. She and her friends hid as the trapdoor swung up. Marinette peaked in and sighed inwardly in relief. 

“Here are the boys bags, Sebastian.” Marinette said handing her DJ friend to overnight bags. 

“Thanks. Honestly we should have just stashed them in the spare room.” Nino mentioned as he made his way downstairs. 

“Alya you can go first I am just going to use the bathroom quickly.” Marinette said ushering her friend in. Once Alya had gone back downstairs Marinette returned. She carefully closed the door. 

“You can come out now.” She called. She watched as four floating figures appeared from various spots. She smiled. 

“Good to see you Wayzz.” Marinette greated. The turtle smiled and nodded.

“It is nice to finally meet the cat behind all the stories, Plagg.” Marinette addressed the black cat.

“Glad to meetcha Marinette. I see my reputation precedes me.” Plagg boasted. Sinn rolled her eyes. 

“More like your infamy tom cat.” Sinnopa taunted before smiling at Tikki’s charge. “A pleasure to meet you face to face Marinette.” Mare giggled.

“Likewise Sinn.” The designer the quickly changed into her PJ’s. 

“So how's the sleepover going?” Tikki inquired. 

“So far so good. We are going to catch Adrien and Alya up on our past before watching a movie.” Marinette replied. 

“Nice meeting all of you!” The designer called racing down the stairs. 

The Kwamis looked at one another. 

“You know I actually don’t know the full story behind the Quad split yet. Only bits and pieces.” Sinnopa pointed out.

“I am also curious about that topic myself.” Wayzz admitted.

“If we listen in then it would save us from asking uncomfortable questions.” Plagg added. Tikki looked at her friends and sighed.

“If Marinette didn’t want us to listen in she would have told us.” Tikki agreed reluctantly. With the lucky bugs permission the four jetted downstairs.

The four ancient being listened to the abridged version of the quad’s woes. Tikki being the only one that heard the full version was the only one who knew what was coming.

“Geez I didn’t realize just how much shit a person could go through.” Plagg said feeling sorry for the group of young teens.

“I hadn’t realized just what that girl had done to him. My poor kit.” Sinn sniffled. Nate had refused to budge about who Rachel was when they ran into her earlier. Now she could understand why.

Wayzz and Tikki were silent. Many of Tikki’s partners had gone through a lot of tragedy in their life. It’s what allowed them to empathise with others so well. 

Wayzz on the other hand was just stunned by the strength that each of the quad showed. His gaze lingered on Felix. ‘Duusu would like him’ Wayzz thought quietly before banishing the thought.

The Kwami’s sighed in relief as the teens became absorbed in the film.

“That was hilarious.” Plagg said laughing at the various hijinx of Roger. The others shushed him.

“Well this sounds like an interesting game.” Sinnopa said perking up. 

“Marinette told me that they created it since her and Felix wanted to give Nino and Nathan the option of what they shared.” Tikki informed.

The group sat in silence as they listened to the artist tale. Plagg looked at the fox and sighed. 

“I may not like you, but your partner has a strong heart.” Plagg said. Sinnopa just nodded in reply. They fell silent once Alya started her story.

“While I may enjoy the girls nosiness she’s got guts. In another lifetime she would have been a good fox barer.” Sinnopa muttered. The others nodded in agreement. 

Nino’s truth made the group feel both sad and happy. Tikki looked at Wayzz and then at Nino. Something told her that if given the chance, Nino would go as far as the rest of the heroes. It seemed that Wayzz was seeing it as well.

“Aweee!” Tikki sighed at Felix’s tale. No wonder her partner adored the boy. His heart was a big as Mare’s. 

“That boy may not be open, but he cares deeply about those that are in his heart.” Sinnopa observed. The group laughed at Nino’s comment.

“Damn Adrien’s cousin is a sneaky one. He would make a good cat.” Plagg said.

Tikki observed her partners face as Adrien talked about his truth. She felt a shot of pride at the fact that Marinette was able to beat the jealousy and only showed concern for her friend. She had come a long way from Volpina.

“Their a good group of friends.” Wayzz said watching the teens offer the model their support.

When Marinette turn came Tikki became curious. She knew a lot about her partner, but not everything. But not even she would have guessed what Marinette would say.

“I’m adopted.”

“WHAT!?” The four voices of the Kwamis shouted with the teens.

~ ~ ~ _Back to Marinette_ ~ ~ ~

“How can you be adopted?!” Alya screeched.

“Are you being serious?” Adrien asked.

“How the hell did you not tell us?” Nathanael questioned.

Marinette sat looking at her friends helplessly. Seeing her distress Nino put an arm around her.

“Back off you too! Your making her nervous.” Nino ordered. He gently rubbed Mare’s arms. She looked at him and smiled.

“Thanks Sebastian.” She whispered.

“How are you so calm about this Nino?” Alya asked. Nino shot a look at Marinette before sighing deeply. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Because I already knew,” He admitted softly.

“You knew?! And you didn’t think to mention this to me?” Alya asked in disbelief. Nino just glared at his girlfriend.

“Not my secret to tell.” He said calmly. Alya started at this. 

Marinette looked at Felix. Aside from the first exclamation he hadn’t said anything. Instead he was sitting there quietly. Staring at her.

“When did you find out?” He finally asked. Marinette was surprised. That one she was not expecting.

“You’re not mad?” Marinette asked timidly. Felix looked at her and let out a soft smile.

“Marinette you have been my friend for over ten years. You wouldn’t have hid that from me unless it happened after I left. I also infer that it is tied to the real reason you let the boys go.” Felix reassured. 

Marinette flung herself into her best friends arms. As he hugged her Marinette felt a few tears escape. She had been dreading Felix’s reaction the most, but he just showed her what she already knew. Felix wouldn’t leave her side. He trusted her just like she trusted him. It was a huge relief.

Nino smiled at the pair before leveling a glare at the other three, especially Nathanael. Each looked down feeling horrible. 

After Marinette had calmed down she looked at her friends. She held out a and to stop the sorries that were about to spill form their lips.

“I am not mad, so save your apologies. I should have known that informing you like that was not going to get the best reaction.” Marin said shaking her head.

“Why did you tell Nino and not me?” Nathanael asked softly. The designer gazed at him. While some would say he was accusing, Mare saw that it was his insecurities shining through.

“I didn’t tell Nino.” Marinette said firmly. “He was there the day I found out.”

“What?” Adrien asked baffled. Marinette sighed trying to find out a good place to start her story.

“Felix was right. I found out a little over a year ago right about when Nathanael and Nino asked me to back off. Originally I had no intention of backing off, in fact I was even more determined to get my friends back.” Mare smiled at the memory. The rest sat quiet anxious to here what she would say next. 

“I knew that Nathanael needed time, plus he was at least in my class. Instead I focused my energy on Nino. After all it wasn’t just him who was hurting from his gramps death.” Marinette revealed.

“She was relentless.” Nino said chuckling. “Seriously the girl may have not been in my class but she knew my schedule by heart. She had this way of popping up everywhere. Hell she even scheduled her guitar lessons at the same time as cello.”

“Why didn’t I ever know about this?” Nathanael asked laughing.

“We were already not talking bro, plus Swan wanted to focus on one before she tackled the other. I would be more willing to tell her when she went too far.” Nino explained. Nathanael nodded his demons once again quiet.

“Well Nino’s and My teachers decided that they wanted us to do a duet. It was my big break to mend our friendship. Since his parents were always working, we would work on harmonizing at my house, especially since my parents would be around to watch us.” Marinette told the group.

“Try as I might, I was slowly letting Marinette back in. After all playing together just seemed right.” Nino mused. While food was a good way to his heart, music appealed more.

“But then a storm came to Paris.” Mari’s eyes turned sad. As she began to remember that horrible night.

“Our lessons were canceled due to the storm warning, and my parents were out of town. Now I was really coming down, and there was lightning. There was no way I was going to able to get home.” Nino said.

“So I offered to let him stay at the bakery, with my parents permission. They were also out of town for a wedding. They would be back the next day and since we had no school they saw nothing wrong with us being alone.” Mare drew her knees to her chest.

“We were actually having a lot of fun. I finally felt I had my friend back. But then everything went dark. The storm had cut the power.” Mare remembered that flash, of how the lights flickered and died. And of the rumble of thunder that sounded as her perception of her life crashed around her.

“Try as we might we couldn’t find any working flashlights, but then I remembered that my parents kept one in their bedroom. So I ran to get it and to our relief it worked. But then I clutzed out and dropped it. It had rolled under the bed.” Mare shook her at the memory.

“We both tried to grab it, but we couldn’t reach. So instead of fumbling around in the dark to find something to nudge it out, we decide to move the bed so that we could get a better chance at grabbing it. We were able to move the bed enough to grab it and just when we were about to put the bed back, I noticed something. Behind my parents headboard was a small closet.” Felix tense knowing that what came next would not be good.

“Now I was really curious so me and Nino kept moving the be until I could easily access this hidden delight. I had never known that it was there. So I did the obvious thing. I opened the closet. Just my luck that it was open. Inside was an album and a chest. I grabbed both and pulled them out to get a better look. A loose photo fell out of the book face down.” Marinette became quiet, lost in the memory.

“I picked up the photo. It said ‘Marinette age four with her mom’. We were curious. Belle didn’t have a lot of baby photos or of her at a young age. Hindsight it was a bit obvious that there was something wrong with that.” Nino muttered.

“We turned the photo over. Sure enough it was me with two braids and a wide smile. I was in the lap of a beautiful woman, who was undoubtedly my mother. We looked so alike, we even had the same eye color.” Marinette looked up at the last words.

Felix got it first.

“Shit.” Felix cursed. “What a way to find out.” 

The other three looked confused. 

“What color are my eyes?” Marinette asked.

“Blue.” Nathanael answered puzzled . Marinette looked at her friend softly.

“And what color are Sabine’s?” Nino asked for his friend.

The artist froze. He looked at Marinette who nodded. 

“Grey.” He whispered. Alya’s and Adrien’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t believe it. But then I saw something that made it a lot clearer.” Marinette got up and grabbed a picture that she had stashed away earlier.

“Sabine and Tom aren’t my parents. Their my aunt and uncle. My mom is Sabine’s sister.” 

Marinette showed the group the picture. It was of two young women both had blue hair and were obviously related. One had dark grey eyes, but the other had bright blue eyes. Eyes that were inherited by the girl before them.

“Inside the box was a lot of papers. One of them was paperwork that appointed Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng as my closest living relative and guardians.” Marinette revealed.

“Tom and Sabine told us the truth the next day once we confronted them. They got a call one day. Their had been an accident. Sabine’s sister, Nuan, was missing and their niece was in a coma. When she woke up she had no memories. She thought that Tom and Sabine were her parents. So they took their niece, home. They became her parents and gave her the name Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Nino told the group.

“I swore Nino to secrecy and began to avoid him. We still had lesson and the duet. But after the performance I couldn’t bring myself to play the guitar. All it did was bring up memories of that night.” Marinette admitted.

“I didn’t feel right talking to Marinette so I went back to ignoring her. I knew why she quit playing and didn’t begrudge her for it. Life moved on and a year later here we are.” Nino ended trying to get a chuckle.

“There is another reason that I gave up the guitar. Apparently my actual mother played guitar as well. The wound was still fresh so I selfishly decided that I didn’t want to be like her.” Marinette finished.

Felix brought her into a tight hug. 

“Girl I had no idea. I am so sorry.” Alya said.

“It’s not your fault. Besides I wanted you all to know. Your my friends and this wasn’t something that I felt right keeping from you.” Mare said with a water smile.

“Thanks Mari.” Adrien said choking back tears.

“I don’t know about you, but I need a major distraction.” Nino blurted out. The others laughed, but didn’t disagree. 

“What movie did you bring Alya?” Marinette questioned her best friend. Alya grabbed the DVD and held it up for the others to see.

“ _ The Iron Giant _ eh? That sounds like as good a choice as any.” Nathanael mused. Getting nods from the rest they put the movie in. They grabbed pillows and blankets and made themselves comfortable, trying to put the bomb that Marinette dropped out of their thoughts.

~ ~ ~ _Time Skip_ ~ ~ ~

All of the teens were past out by the time the credits were rolling, exhausted from the emotional stress of the evening. All, but two that is.

Marinette sat up and looked at Felix, knowing that he was awake. They looked at Nino and Alya curled up against one another, at Adrien curled up in a ball, and Nathanael who’s hair was already a mess. Marinette gently removed the reporter and DJ’s glasses, careful not to wake them, While Felix placed blankets over the other two.Once they were sure that the group wouldn’t wake, Felix grabbed the spar cot, plopping it behind the couch. Felix sat quietly waiting for his closest person to speak.

“We always seem to do this. End up being the last awake and sharing a cot together.” Marinette mused. Felix hmmed.

“You know that we might need to stop doing that soon.” Felix pointed out. Mare sent a look his way, but she knew he was joking.

“My parents are hiding a lot about, well my  _ parents _ .” Marinette got ball rolling.

“Like the fact that your father was never mentioned?” Felix questioned.

“Yep. Apparently my mother never told them who he was. He isn’t even listed on my birth certificate.” Marinette answered. Felix turned to her.

“What else?”

Mare looked into his grey-green eyes and sighed. 

“Nuan, my mother is still alive. Or at least that is what mama believes.” Mare revealed. Felix picked up on her turmoil.

“You aren’t sure how you feel about that.” He observed. She nodded.

“Honestly I don’t want to talk about it.” Marinette admitted. Felix nodded, but knew that it would come up again eventually.

“But what bugs me the most is that they have never told me what the actual accident was. I am not even sure if they know.” Marinette pondered.

“We’ll find out.” _ Together  _ went unvoiced, but Marinette knew. They didn’t say anything else. It wasn’t necessary. 

The hero of Paris knew that she would get her answers eventually, and Felix would be right there with her. ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fan theory fact that lead me to that conclusion are definitely the eyes. Mari’s dad will stay a mystery, but her mom will be popping up again.
> 
> A big thanks to all those that reviewed, left kudos, followed, bookmarked, favorited and read my story.


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